Housing stocks lead Dow rally
US stocks extended gains into a second day on the back of signs the housing market was recovering, while other corporate giants posted positive earnings results. Bargain hunting investors also poured money into shares that had been heavily sold in January.
The Dow Jones rose 111.32 points, or 1.09%, to 10,296.85, the S&P 500 added 14.13 points, or 1.30%, to 1,103.31 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ picked up 18.86 points, or 0.87%, to 2,190.06.
Homebuilders soared D.R. Horton reported a 56c per share profit against widespread expectations of a loss. The stock rallied 10.9% even though the gain was on the back of a large tax gain for the company rather than organic growth.
KB Homes surged 6.5%, while Pulte Homes surged 7.5%.
In other housing news, The National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index climbed 1% in December, in line with expectations, however countered a big fall in November.
Among the banks, Citigroup rose 2.1%, while Bank of America was 1.2% higher.
JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs put on 2.3% and 2.5% respectively.
Wells Fargo was the only major bank to lose ground, dipping 0.5%.
Ford rose 2.4% as it reported a 25% jump in sales in January from a year ago, gaining ground on rival Toyota which saw sales slump 16%. General Motors, which filed for bankruptcy in 2009 also saw sales rise.
Kraft put on 1.6% after taking control of Cadbury Tuesday.
In other corporate news, Barnes and Noble stock surged 7.8% after a key stakeholder said he would double his stake in the bookseller to 37%.
Engine maker Cummins climbed 8.8% after nearly doubling expectations with a US$1.36 per share profit in the fourth quarter.
Tech engineering firm Emerson Electric rallied 10.1% after also saying the future looks bright.
Whirlpool soared 8.1% and UPS put on a more modest 0.4% following better than expected earnings results.
COMEX gold for February delivery rose $13.10 to $1,117.40 an ounce.
NYMEX light crude oil for February delivery added $2.85 to $77.28 a barrel.
Exxon rose 1.2%, while ConocoPhillips climbed 2.2% and Chevron added 1.2%.
European Markets
European stocks staged a rally Tuesday as miners recovered ground from January’s big sell. Banks also added to the gains, while many news wire services pointed to Australia’s decision to hold out on raising interest rates as a reason for some market confidence.
The benchmark UK FTSE 100 added 35.90 points, or 0.68% to 5,283.31. The French CAC40 rose 50.12, or 1.33% to 3,812.13, while Germany’s DAX rallied 55.18, or 0.98% to 5,709.66.
In the UK Barclays and Lloyds put on 2.6% each, while Standard Chartered tacked on 0.5%. Royal Bank of Scotland jumped 3.7%.
French banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale climbed 1.9% and 2.4% respectively. Swiss and German banks also joined in the gains.
Among oil stocks BP slumped 3.8% after fourth quarter earnings missed estimates and the company said recovery would be slow.
Meanwhile, Shell rose 1.1% and France’s Total put on 0.6%.
The miners rose, led by Rio Tinto, which added 3.4% following a broker upgrade to ‘buy’. Aussie peer BHP Billiton rose 2.7%.
Anglo American put on 3.2%.
Base metals made modest gains trading on the London Metal Exchange.
Among the pharmaceutical stocks GlaxoSmithKline rose 1.2%, while smaller rival Astrazeneca dipped 0.2%. The former reports it fourth quarter earnings figures this week.
Japanese Markets
Japan’s Nikkei rallied on the back of better than expected manufacturing data out of the US and a rise in commodity prices. A weakening yen sent exporters higher.
The Nikkei 225 gained 166.07, or 1.63% to 10,371.09.
Toyota climbed 4.5% after detailing plans to fix its recalled vehicles. It was the first session the automaker’s shares rose since January 21 when it announced the recall.
Nissan advanced 3.5%.
Isuzu Motors surged 6.2% on reports the light-duty truck maker delivered an operating profit in the December quarter.
Electronics companies and major exporters Canon and Sony added 2.7% and 3.1%.
Trading house Mitsubishi Corp benefited from a rise in metals and oil prices. Its shares gained 5.1%, while rival Mitsui & Co rallied 5.8% after increasing its profit forecast.
Nippon Mining and Nippon Oil rallied 6.2% on broker upgrades.
Oil explorer Inpex Corp rose 2.9%, while Mitsui Mining & Smelting gained 5.1% after more than doubling its net income forecast.
Dena spiked 19% after the shopping website operator reported an increase in nine-month sales.
Hong Kong Markets
The Hang Seng traded both sides of the gain line Tuesday before a late swing saw it edge higher at the close. Gamers were strong as Macau said gaming revenue in January was up 65% from the previous corresponding month.
The Hang Seng rose 28.43, or 0.14% to 20,272.18.
Bank of China lost 0.3%, ICBC shed 1.2% and HSBC added 0.8%.
In a reverse of yesterday, many Hong Kong bank listings lost ground, while those on the Chinese mainland climbed.
Gaming stock Melco International rose 2.9%, while Wynn Macau rose 2.2%. SJM Holdings soared 5%. All those companies are controlled by billionaires.
Clothing maker Li & Fung shed 1.1%, while shoemaker Yue Yuen was off 0.8%.
Third party mobile phone maker Foxconn jumped 1.5%.
Among oil stocks, offshore explorer Cnooc rose 1.1%, while China’s number one refiner, PetroChina added 0.9%.
Realgold Mining soared 6.6%, while Jiangxi Copper was 1.7% dearer.
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