After 18 Month Surrender Dow Ends Atop 11K on M&A OptimismStocks motored cautiously higher today, with the bulls buoyed by a fresh round of merger-and-acquisition news. Smartphone issue Palm Inc. kicked things off, after a Bloomberg report confirmed recent speculation that the company has put itself up for sale. Elsewhere, Mirant Corp. agreed to merge with sector peer Reliant Energy, and DynCorp International consented to a $1.5-billion takeover by Cerberus Capital. Meanwhile, in a completely different sector of the economy, California Pizza Kitchen announced that it plans to explore strategic alternatives, including a potential merger or sale. This flurry of M&A action effectively propelled the major market indexes to new annual highs, but gains were relatively muted today.
With earnings bellwether Alcoa slated to unveil its first-quarter results after the close, traders seemed unwilling to commit to a full-fledged buying binge.
On the eve of earnings season, the bulls ended their long battle for Dow 11000 on Monday as the blue chips broke that psychological barrier amid high hopes for robust earnings and new details of a possible rescue for debt-ridden Greece.
Even though the gains were muted, Monday’s session marked the first close above the psychologically-important 11000 level for the Dow since Sept. 26, 2008 -- just days after the implosion of Lehman Brothers that sent financial markets careening.
In fact, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 11,005.97) took a brief dip into the red before settling on a gain of 8.6 points, or 0.08%. A dozen of the Dow's 30 components closed higher, led by Caterpillar, while DuPont and Travelers Companies set the tone for the 18 declining blue chips. The Dow notched its first daily close above 11,000 and tagged a new 52-week peak of 11,029.77 on an intraday basis.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,196.48) eked out a 2-point advance by the close, rising 0.2% for the day. The SPX found a new annual high of its own, topping out at 1,199.20 -- just shy of the psychologically significant 1,200 level. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,457.87) tacked on 3.8 points, or 0.2%, after finding a fresh high of 2,463.17 in afternoon trading.
On the eve of earnings season, the bulls ended their long battle for Dow 11000 on Monday as the blue chips broke that psychological barrier amid high hopes for robust earnings and new details of a possible rescue for debt-ridden Greece.
Even though the gains were muted, Monday’s session marked the first close above the psychologically-important 11000 level for the Dow since Sept. 26, 2008 -- just days after the implosion of Lehman Brothers that sent financial markets careening.
In fact, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 11,005.97) took a brief dip into the red before settling on a gain of 8.6 points, or 0.08%. A dozen of the Dow's 30 components closed higher, led by Caterpillar, while DuPont and Travelers Companies set the tone for the 18 declining blue chips. The Dow notched its first daily close above 11,000 and tagged a new 52-week peak of 11,029.77 on an intraday basis.The S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,196.48) eked out a 2-point advance by the close, rising 0.2% for the day. The SPX found a new annual high of its own, topping out at 1,199.20 -- just shy of the psychologically significant 1,200 level. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,457.87) tacked on 3.8 points, or 0.2%, after finding a fresh high of 2,463.17 in afternoon trading.
The COMP is now trading in territory not explored since mid-August 2008.
Crude Oil NymexCrude futures continued to sag under the weight of oversupply worries, with traders shrugging off the news that China's oil imports approached record-high territory in March. Even with the U.S. dollar backpedaling against its foreign rivals today, black gold was unable to win over new buyers in the wake of last week's surprisingly bearish inventory report. Crude oil for May delivery gave up 58 cents, or 0.7%, to wrap up the day at $84.34 per barrel.
Spot Gold FuturesMeanwhile, the greenback's slide effectively propped up gold futures today, with the dollar-denominated commodity notching a slim gain. The euro surged today against its U.S. counterpart, after the European Union cobbled together a rescue package for cash-strapped Greece over the weekend. After tapping a four-month peak of $1,170.70 per ounce on an intraday basis, gold for June delivery settled up 30 cents at $1,162.20 per ounce.
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