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Dow Ends at Another Record Close as Cyclicals Rally

*from www.reuters.com, April 9, 2013 (To view original article click here.)

Take Away #1: Stocks advanced on Tuesday, with the Dow closing at a record high on a rally in cyclical shares and as earnings season started to heat up.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The S&P 500 again neared its all-time intraday high of 1,576.09, recovering steep losses last week, the index’s worst of 2013.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average also touched a record intraday high at 14,716.46.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 59.98 points, or 0.41%, to 14,673.46, a record closing high.
  • The S&P 500 Index gained 5.54 points, or 0.35%, to 1,568.61.
  • The Nasdaq Composite Index added 15.61 points, or 0.48% to close at 3,237.86.

Take Away #2: The return to near record levels indicates that investors are again using market declines as buying opportunities, and seeing cyclical sectors lead the rally could be a healthy sign.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The top sectors of the day, technology and energy, are groups that are closely tied to the pace of economic growth.
  • Among blue-chip technology stocks, Microsoft Corp. jumped 3.6% to $29.61 as the Dow’s top percentage gainer.
  • Intel Corp. shares shot up 3.1% to $21.75.
  • Hewlett-Packard rose 1.3% to $22.22.
  • The S&P technology sector advanced 0.8%.
  • The Philadelphia semiconductor sector gained 0.9%.
  • An S&P index of energy share rose 0.8% climbing alongside a rise of 0.9% in the price of U.S. crude oil.
  • The price of U.S. crude oil was up on inflation data from China that reduced concerns about monetary tightening.
  • Halliburton Co. rose 1.8% to $39.11.
  • Chevron Corp. gained 0.7% to $118.64.

Take Away #3: Stocks also got a boost from a promising start to earnings season.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • While only 5% of S&P 500 companies have reported results so far, almost three-quarters of then have topped expectations.
  • Still profits are seen rising just 1.5% from a year-ago quarter, down from estimates in January for growth of 4.3%.
  • Late Monday, Alcoa Inc. reported adjusted earnings that beat expectations, though revenue was below forecasts.
  • Shares of Alcoa closed flat on the day at $8.39.
  • There have been 4.7 negative first-quarter preannouncements for each positive one, according to Thomson Reuters data, the worst ratio since the third quarter of 2001.

Take Away #4: First Solar Inc. surges to become the S&P 500’s top gainer by far and lifting the solar sector.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • First Solar Inc., surged 45.5% to $39.35, after forecasting 2013 earnings and revenue well above expectations.
  • The news lifted the solar sector, with Yingli Green Energy climbing 21% to $2.24 and Trina Solar up 14.6% at $4.40.
  • The Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF rose almost 13% to $40.68.

Take Away #5: About 56% of the shares traded on the NYSE closed in positive territory, in contrast with the 53% of Nasdaq-listed shares closing lower.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • Volume was light, with about 5.71 billion shares changing hands on the NYSE, the Nasdaq, and NYSE MKT, below the daily average so far this year of about 6.48 billion shares.

Key Facts and Figures:

*To view original article from www.reuters.com click here.

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