US stocks end mildly higher

Technology and energy sectors try to boost stocks on a quiet day

US stocks closed mildly higher on Monday, 11 October 2010. Optimism regarding positive earning reports scheduled later during the week helped stocks end in the green at the end. An absence of catalysts this morning made for a rather quiet start to the session, but stocks were able to attract some support. A stronger dollar restrained buying this session, but stocks were still up with modest gains. The U.S. Treasury market was closed for observance of Columbus Day holiday.



For the day, that ended on Monday, 11 October 2010, Dow ended higher by 3.63 points at 11,010.11. Nasdaq ended higher by 0.42 points at 2,402.33. S&P 500 ended higher by 0.15 points at 1,165.3. Earlier in the day, Dow was trading higher by 15 points and also lower by 10 points.

On Monday, five out of ten economic sectors ended higher led by telecom, energy and technology sector. Industrial and materials sectors were the laggards.

Tech stocks were propped up by a mix of large-cap tech plays and semiconductor stocks today. The sector got a good boost after Broadcom was added to the buy list at Goldman Sachs. Gains by the Nasdaq were led by large-cap tech plays like Apple, Google and Intel.

In M&A news, shares of Gymboree jumped 22% after private-equity powerhouse Bain Capital said it would acquire the children's clothing retailer for $1.8 billion. In another event, Chesapeake Energy rose 1% after China's Cnooc said it would acquire one-third of the company's Eagle Ford shale project in Texas.

In the currency market on Monday, the dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies fell initially but then pared all early losses and ended 0.3% higher.

The Labor Department in US reported on last Friday, 07 October 2010 that the number of people who filed new claims for state unemployment benefits fell 11,000 to 445,000 during the week ended 2 October 2010, the lowest level since early July.

Market had expected initial claims to rise to a seasonally adjusted 455,000 in the week. Claims for last week were revised up by 3,000 to 456,000. The four-week average decreased by 3,000 to 455,750. A more accurate gauge of employment trends is the four-week average of initial claims, which is less volatile than the weekly number.

Crude oil prices ended little lower on Monday, 11 October 2010 at Nymex. Prices fell as the dollar pared its initial losses. Prices also remained a bit somber following last week's employment report from the Labor Department. On Monday, crude oil futures for light sweet crude for November delivery closed at $82.38/barrel (lower by $0.40 or 0.4%). Prices rose to high of $83.5 earlier during the day. Last week, crude gained 1.3%.

Among other energy products on Monday, gasoline bucked the downward trend for energy products to post gains. Gasoline for November delivery added 2 cents, or 1%, to $2.17 a gallon. Also on Monday, natural gas for November delivery declined 3 cents, or 0.8%, to $3.62 per million British thermal units.

Precious metals remained strong on Monday, 11 October 2010 at Comex, even as the dollar erased earlier losses and inched up. On Monday, gold for December delivery ended at $1,354.4 an ounce, higher by $9.1 (0.7%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. During intra day trading, prices rose to a high of $1,356.3. Last week, gold ended higher by 2.1%. It was the eighth weekly gains for gold. On Monday, December Comex silver futures ended higher by 24 cents (1.1%) at $23.35.

Trading volume on the NYSE dropped to its lowest level in one month as barely 800 million shares exchanged hands this session. Advancers outpaced decliners 16 to 13 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Indian ADRs ended mixed on Monday. Tata Motors and ICICI Bank were the main gainers soaring 2% and 0.8% respectively. Infosys and HDFC Bank lost 0.9% each.

Earnings season will get into full swing this week as Intel, GE and JP Morgan Chase are three Dow components that are scheduled to report earnings. For tomorrow, no economic data is expected.