Wall Street climbed Thursday as the US economy shrank less in the first quarter than previously estimated. The retail sector strengthened on positive company news, while tech stocks were also in the black.
In economic news, a government report showed GDP growth declined 5.5% in the first quarter, which was lower than the 5.7% contraction initially thought.
Meanwhile, the number of new unemployment claims rose last week, ahead of economist's expectations of a fall. Continuing claims also rose after a drop the previous week.
The Dow Jones jumped 172.54 points, or 2.08%, to 8472.40, the S&P's 500 added 19.32 points, or 2.14%, to 920.26 and the NASDAQ picked up 37.20 points, or 2.08%, to 1829.54.
Bank of America finished flat as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke denied he had put pressure on the bank to complete the purchase of Merrill Lynch.
Wells Fargo, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs gained 2.7%, 2% and 1.3% respectively. Morgan Stanley added 0.8%, while Citigroup shed 0.3%.
American Express climbed 6.6%.
Tech stocks continued their rally. IBM, Microsoft and Apple rose 1.8%, 1.4% and 2.7%.
Hewlett-Packard and Oracle advanced 2.4% and 1.8%, while search engines Google and Yahoo! added 1.6% and 0.5%.
Retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond spiked 9.5% after reporting a jump in earnings that beat estimates. Target and Costco rose 4.2% and 2.8%, while Wal-Mart added 1.3%.
Energy stocks tracked the price of crude as it jumped over US$70 a barrel. Exxon Mobil and Chevron put on 2.1% and 1.8%, while ConocoPhillips edged 0.1% higher.
Boeing regained some of its recent losses, closing 2.9% dearer. Lockheed Martin gained 2%.
Aluminium producer Alcoa climbed 5% as metal prices increased.
NYMEX light crude oil for August delivery rose US$1.73 to US$70.40 a barrel.
COMEX gold for August delivery rose US$5.10 to settle at US$939.50 an ounce.
European Markets
European stocks dipped as disappointing economic data both locally and out of the US and locally concerned investors. Financials and commodity stocks lost ground.
In economic news, the International Monetary Fund said Irish banks face losses of as much as $49 billion to 2010.
The UK benchmark FTSE 100 shed 27.41, or 0.64% at 4,252.57. France’s CAC40 slid 21.66, or 0.68% to 3,163.10, while the German DAX weakened 35.45, or 0.73%, to 4,800.56.
UK banks Lloyds, Standard Chartered and HSBC fell 1.6%, 2.3% and 2.4% respectively. Royal Bank of Scotland bucked the trend, adding 3.4% following analyst upgrade.
BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank gained 1.3% and 0.6%, while Societe Generale slid 0.8%.
Miners were mainly lower. Antofagasta and Xstrata lost 1.4% and 0.8% as Anglo American added 0.6%.
Aussie peers BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto fell 2.2% and 2.4%.
Energy stocks also lost ground. BG Group, BP and Royal Dutch Shell dipped 0.9%, 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.
Automaker Porsche climbed 7.6% on reports it would reach a deal in which Qatar would take a stake in Porsche’s majority owned carmaker Volkswagen. VW shed 3.2%.
Pharmaceuticals struggled, including French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis sinking 4.6% on reports its diabetes treatment may have problems.
Japanese Markets
Japanese stocks wiped out the week’s losses with the largest gain in over a month. Exporters and financials were among the biggest movers.
The Nikkei 225 advanced 205.76 or 2.15% to 9,796.08.
Reports of merger talks sent both Aozora Bank and Shinsei Bank 11% higher each.
Trading houses Mitsubishi and Mitsui & Co added 4.4% and 3.7%.
Digital camera maker Canon and Sony gained 2.2% and 2% as the yen fell, while Mitsubishi Electric and Tokyo Electron jumped 7.7% and 4.1%.
Honda Motor and Toyota put on 2.7% and 2.2%.
Hong Kong Markets
Hong Kong markets rose on a positive outlook for the global economy. Property stocks led the rally as signs the real-estate market is recovering.
The Hang Seng climbed 382.88, or 2.14%, to 18,275.03.
Sun Hung Kai Properties and Shimao Property Holdings advanced 5% and 6.7%.
Builder New World Development jumped 7.6%.
Hang Seng Bank and Bank of China gained 3.3% and 3.8%.
Angang Steel added 3.2%, while China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (or Sinopec) rose 2%.
