S&P 500 Futures and Options Trading
CALL 1-888-456-8090 TO BEGIN TRADING TODAY!INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS CALL 1-541-773-5741
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S&P 500 Futures and Options TradingCALL 1-888-456-8090 TO BEGIN TRADING TODAY!INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS CALL 1-541-773-5741 |
S&P 500 Futures: U.S. Stocks Advance on Anniversary of 2009 Bear-Market Low March 9th, 2010U.S. stocks rose on the anniversary of the 2009 bear-market low for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index amid speculation the economy will continue to recover from the worst contraction since the Great Depression. United Technologies Corp., Microsoft Corp. and General Electric Co. led gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Boeing Co. advanced after Northrop Grumman Co. withdrew as a bidder for a U.S. Air Force contract. UAL Corp. rallied 8.5 percent after reporting an increase in a measure of revenue. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent to 1,144.82 at 1:20 p.m. in New York. The benchmark gauge for U.S. equities ended a six-day rally and closed little changed yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 53.81 points, or 0.5 percent, to 10,606.33. “It’s happy anniversary day,” said Philip Orlando, New York-based chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors Inc., which oversees $400 billion. “The economy is out of recession, the improvement is sustainable and stocks will continue grinding higher. Investors are waiting for the next catalyst.” The S&P 500 is up 69 percent since hitting a 12-year low of 676.53 one year ago today, the biggest rally for the index since the Great Depression. The main benchmark for American equities is still down more than 1 percent from this year’s high amid concern about some European countries’ ability to pay back debt and as investors speculated the Federal Reserve will need to rein in emergency stimulus measures as the economy improves. ‘Acrophobia’“Stocks are still cheap,” said billionaire Kenneth Fisher, who oversees $37 billion as chairman of Fisher Investments Inc. in Woodside, California. “The nature of the beginning of the second year of a bull market is one where people are still climbing the wall of worry and they have ‘acrophobia’ because they didn’t expect we’d go up so much and that gives them fear of heights. We’ll see the year nicely higher.”“We’re poised for risk assets to do well for a few quarters,” said David Darst, the New-York based chief investment strategist at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, which has $1.6 trillion in client assets. “The interest rate is low, inflation is low and liquidity is enormous. The final positive is global growth. At the end of this year, we’ll be looking at 2011 earnings, when the market can earn $85. If you put a 14 times multiple on that, it gives you a 1,233 price for the S&P 500.” United TechnologiesUnited Technologies increased 1.9 percent to $72.09. The maker of Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Otis elevators was raised to “outperform” from “neutral” at Cowen & Co.UAL rose 8.5 percent to $19. The parent of United Airlines said February revenue for each passenger flown a mile increased by between 17 percent and 19 percent. Boeing gained 1.1 percent to $68. The world’s second- largest commercial-plane maker is the only bidder for the U.S. Air Force’s $35 billion tanker program after Northrop Grumman withdrew because the government refused to alter some of its requirements. Sprint Nextel Corp. rose the most in the S&P 500, jumping 7.4 percent to $3.65. The third-largest U.S. wireless company advanced for a second day after saying it expects revenue growth in the next several quarters and saying it will pay down debt and control expenses. Sprint RalliesSprint, the third-largest U.S. wireless carriers, led a 1.6 percent rally in telephone companies, the biggest advance among 10 groups. Industrial shares climbed 1 percent as a group, the second biggest gain of the 10.Yum! Brands Inc. climbed 3.7 percent to $36.72. UBS AG upgraded the shares to “buy” from “neutral” and raised its price estimate on the shares 16 percent to $44, saying the stock has underperformed its global consumer peers. Comerica Inc. retreated 1.6 percent to $35.72. The bank, with a market value of about $5.5 billion, is raising about $800 million by selling shares. BMO Capital Markets cut its rating on the shares to “market perform” from “outperform.” First Solar Inc. fell 1.7 percent to $106.75. The world’s largest maker of thin-film solar modules was downgraded to “underweight” from “neutral” at JPMorgan. Energy Conversion Devices Inc., also lowered to “underweight” from “neutral” at JPMorgan, fell 2.9 percent to $8.31. - Elizabeth Stanton in New York and Rita Nazareth in New York at Bloomberg. See Also: Dow Jones Industrial Average Click here for your Free S&P 500 Futures Trading eGuide |
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