Momentum buying was partly in play, analysts said. The S&P 500 has gained 13.5 percent from the intraday low hit last week on Tuesday and was on track for its largest seven-day rally since March 2009.
"It feels as though the market is experiencing the possibility of a melt-up," said Hank Smith, chief investment officer of Haverford Trust Co. in Philadelphia.
"You've got a lot of money on the sidelines that just didn't want to take the risk of being invested. That could come back in."
Slovakian lawmakers struck a deal to ratify more powers for the euro zone's rescue fund, known as the EFSF, effectively ending a crisis that threatens the euro's survival and which has weighed on stocks and other risky assets for months.
Slovakia is the last country in the 17-member currency zone left to approve the revamped EFSF.
Bank shares led the advance again, with the KBW Bank Index (Philadelphia:^BKX) shot up 4.1 percent. Citigroup (NYSE:C) gained 6.2 percent to $29.54.
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI) was up 159.92 points, or 1.40 percent, at 11,576.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SNP:^GSPC) was up 18.51 points, or 1.55 percent, at 1,214.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC) was up 31.46 points, or 1.22 percent, at 2,614.49.
The S&P 500 traded above 1,200 for the first time in three weeks, taking the benchmark near the upper end of a range it has been stuck at since early August.
If the index is able to stay above resistance at 1,215, that would be seen as a bullish signal, analysts said.
Among earnings, PepsiCo Inc (NYSE:PEP) rose 3.7 percent to $63.19 after it reported slightly better-than-expected earnings and affirmed its full-year target. But Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) fell 2.5 percent to $10.04 and ranked as one of the biggest drags on the Dow, a day after reporting results.
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)
Read more
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.