There wasn't really room for positive spin on today's headlines, but stocks still scored strong gains as market participants showed renewed interest in risk.
The tone of trade today was positive from the start. Participants initially took their cues from Europe's major bourses, which all advanced around 1% or more in the face of a decision by Moody's to downgrade about 30 banks in Spain, the likelihood for a bailout of Portugal following the failure of its Parliament to pass austerity measures, and a mixed batch of economic data.
There wasn't much to boast about at home either. Data featured a 0.9% drop in overall durable goods orders for February and a 0.6% fall in orders less less transportation. The consensus among economists polled by Briefing.com had called for increases of 1.1% and 1.8%, respectively.
The latest weekly initial jobless claims count came in at 382,000, which is on par with the 384,000 initial claims that had been broadly expected.
Consumer electronics and home office supplies retailer Best Buy (BBY 30.13, -1.72) issued cautious commentary during its quarterly conference call that overshadowed the company's upside earnings surprise. The stock dropped to a two-year low after it had opened in positive territory.
Even amid lackluster headlines stocks still attracted strong buying interest. The effort even took the S&P 500 past the 1300 zone through secondary resistance above that point to a 10-day high.
Tech stocks, which collectively represent the largest sector by market weight, were a primary source of leadership. The sector climbed 1.6%. Large-cap tech issues like Research In Motion (RIMM 64.09, +1.97), which spiked above its 50-day simple moving average ahead of its earnings report, helped the Nasdaq Composite outperform its counterparts.
Financials lagged for the second straight session. Bank of America (BAC 13.48, -0.17) deepened its one-month low in the wake of yesterday's news that the Fed refused the bank's proposal to distribute capital to shareholders in the second half of 2011. Capital One Financial (COF 51.86, +0.45) was dealt the same decision, but its shares actually staged an impressive rebound. As a group, financials advanced just 0.5%.
Energy stocks were today's weakest performers. They gained just 0.3% after oil prices failed to sustain a move above $106 per barrel to settle essentially unchanged at $105.60 per barrel.
Precious metals came under pressure after pushing higher. Gold prices closed with a 3.1% loss at $1434.90 per ounce after the continuous gold contract traded to a new all-time high at $1448.60 per ounce. May silver ended settled with a 0.6% gain at $37.37 per ounce after it hit $38.18 per ounce, which is its highest level in more than 30 years.
For the third straight session share volume was unimpressive. That should pick up in coming sessions as money managers reposition their portfolios for quarter's end.
Advancing Sectors: Tech (+1.6%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.5%), Health Care (+1.2%), Industrials (+1.0%), Telecom (+0.9%), Consumer Staples (+0.8%), Finance (+0.5%), Materials (+0.4%), Utilities (+0.4%), Energy (+0.3%) Declining Sectors: (None)
The tone of trade today was positive from the start. Participants initially took their cues from Europe's major bourses, which all advanced around 1% or more in the face of a decision by Moody's to downgrade about 30 banks in Spain, the likelihood for a bailout of Portugal following the failure of its Parliament to pass austerity measures, and a mixed batch of economic data.
There wasn't much to boast about at home either. Data featured a 0.9% drop in overall durable goods orders for February and a 0.6% fall in orders less less transportation. The consensus among economists polled by Briefing.com had called for increases of 1.1% and 1.8%, respectively.
The latest weekly initial jobless claims count came in at 382,000, which is on par with the 384,000 initial claims that had been broadly expected.
Consumer electronics and home office supplies retailer Best Buy (BBY 30.13, -1.72) issued cautious commentary during its quarterly conference call that overshadowed the company's upside earnings surprise. The stock dropped to a two-year low after it had opened in positive territory.
Even amid lackluster headlines stocks still attracted strong buying interest. The effort even took the S&P 500 past the 1300 zone through secondary resistance above that point to a 10-day high.
Tech stocks, which collectively represent the largest sector by market weight, were a primary source of leadership. The sector climbed 1.6%. Large-cap tech issues like Research In Motion (RIMM 64.09, +1.97), which spiked above its 50-day simple moving average ahead of its earnings report, helped the Nasdaq Composite outperform its counterparts.
Financials lagged for the second straight session. Bank of America (BAC 13.48, -0.17) deepened its one-month low in the wake of yesterday's news that the Fed refused the bank's proposal to distribute capital to shareholders in the second half of 2011. Capital One Financial (COF 51.86, +0.45) was dealt the same decision, but its shares actually staged an impressive rebound. As a group, financials advanced just 0.5%.
Energy stocks were today's weakest performers. They gained just 0.3% after oil prices failed to sustain a move above $106 per barrel to settle essentially unchanged at $105.60 per barrel.
Precious metals came under pressure after pushing higher. Gold prices closed with a 3.1% loss at $1434.90 per ounce after the continuous gold contract traded to a new all-time high at $1448.60 per ounce. May silver ended settled with a 0.6% gain at $37.37 per ounce after it hit $38.18 per ounce, which is its highest level in more than 30 years.
For the third straight session share volume was unimpressive. That should pick up in coming sessions as money managers reposition their portfolios for quarter's end.
Advancing Sectors: Tech (+1.6%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.5%), Health Care (+1.2%), Industrials (+1.0%), Telecom (+0.9%), Consumer Staples (+0.8%), Finance (+0.5%), Materials (+0.4%), Utilities (+0.4%), Energy (+0.3%) Declining Sectors: (None)
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