Monday's unofficial close: US stocks rise on higher oil prices

11 Apr, 2006

US stocks rose on Monday, rebounding from Friday's sharp sell-off, as rising crude oil prices lifted energy shares such as Exxon Mobil Corp and hopes for more plane orders sent Boeing Co's stock to a record high.
After the bell, aluminium producer Alcoa Inc will kick off the first-quarter earnings reporting season, which is expected to show strong corporate profit growth.
A drop in the yield of the benchmark US Treasury note, along with a $3.1-billion-dollar asset swap involving J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, prompted investors to buy financial stocks. The 10-year note's yield was 4.96 percent, down from 4.99 percent late on Friday.
"You've got the same leadership on the market today that you've had for quite a while, and that's energy and gas stocks," said Tim Heekin, director of trading at Thomas Weisel Partners, a San Francisco investment bank. "You also have a little bounce back in financials. The group in general has been under pressure with rate increases."
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 38.58 points, or 0.35 percent, at 11,158.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.76 points, or 0.21 percent, at 1,298.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.47 of appoint, or 0.02 percent, at 2,339.49.
Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest publicly traded oil company by market value, and Chevron Corp contributed the most to the S&P 500's gain. Exxon Mobil rose almost 1 percent to $61.90 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Chevron gained 1.6 percent to $59.59.
US crude for May delivery rose $1.26 to $68.65 a barrel as escalating tension between the West and Iran over its nuclear ambitions raised concerns about oil supplies. In addition, a quarter of Nigeria's oil output was shut after attacks by militants.
Shares of Boeing, another Dow component, soared to a record high of $80.92 after an analyst, who has been pessimistic about the stock, said it had short-term upside potential in the run-up to the Farnborough International Air Show. Over the weekend, Boeing said it had agreed to settle US allegations that it had violated export regulations. Its stock rose 1.5 percent to $80.79 on the NYSE at midday.
Alcoa's stock rose on optimism before it reports its first-quarter results after the market's close. Shares of Alcoa, the world's largest aluminium maker and a Dow component, gained 1.3 percent to $32.93 on the NYSE.
Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co rose 0.5 percent to $41.91 after the No 3 US bank said it will swap its corporate trust unit, valued at $2.8 billion, for Bank of New York Co's 338 retail branches and small business banking network, valued at $3.1 billion. Bank of New York also will receive cash in the deal; its stock was down 4.2 percent at $35.29.
Other financial stocks gained, with Citigroup Inc, shares up nearly 1 percent at $48.07, and shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc up 1.7 percent at $163.79. Earlier, Goldman hit a record high of $164.05.

Read Comments