US close: Dow hits five-month high on Beige Book wage news
The Dow Jones jumped to its highest close since early November, fuelled by oil remaining above $40 and improved wages news from the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.
Along with the Dow's 1.06% gain to 17,908.28, the S&P 500 stepped up 1% to a 2016 record close of 2,082.42, and the Nasdaq roared up 1.55% to 4,947.42, its highest finish since the first days of January.
The Fed's Beige Book, the nickname of its Federal district-by-district summary of commentary on current economic conditions, said 11 of 12 areas showed signs of wage growth.
"Wages increased in all but one district (Atlanta), and several districts reported signs of a pickup in wage growth over the last survey period," the book revealed, with strongest wage pressures were for occupations where labor shortages are pressing and turnover is elevated.
The taupe tome also said that national economic activity continued to expand in late February and March, though in most Federal districts this was in a modest to moderate range.
Investors were able to shrug off a surprisingly bad fall in US Commerce Department retail sales data of 0.3% in March, compared with expectations of a 0.1% increase, thanks to the Beige Book and positive prospects for the global economy from China.
Export data for the People's Republic showed a 11.5% increase in March year-on-year in dollar terms, beating the 10% expected by analysts and compared to a 25.4% drop in February. It also marked the first rise in nine months.
Imports in March fell 7.6%, less than the 10.1% drop expected and following a 13.8% decline in February.
The figures come a day after the International Monetary Fund said China’s slowdown may not be as severe as first thought, revising its economic growth forecasts to 6.5% this year and 6.2% next year, both up two-tenths of a percentage point from the last outlook.
In commodities, oil prices continued their run above $40 per barrel level, though the rally from the start of the week fizzled out on dire US crude inventory data and Saudi Arabia ruling out an output cut.
Also, US government data showed crude inventories increased by 6.6m barrels, bringing the total in storage to 536.5m barrels in the previous week.
The market is keenly awaiting a meeting between global producers on Sunday to discuss whether to freeze output to address the oversupply in the market.
Just before 1700 New York time front-month West Texas Intermediate crude was down 1.38% to $41.59 per barrel and Brent by 1.57% to $43.99/bbl.
On the corporate scene, JP Morgan’s shares jumped after it reported first quarter earnings that beat forecasts.
Peabody Energy shares fell after the world's largest coal producer filed for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors.
Herb and spice manufacturer McCormick was in the red after abandoning takeover talks with London-listed Premier Foods.
In currencies, the dollar rose 0.84% against the euro, increased 0.34% versus the pound and gained 0.58% against the yen.
S&P 500 - Risers
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $31.73 +9.26%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $19.02 +7.95%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $10.88 +6.98%
Legg Mason Inc. (LM) $34.05 +5.78%
Citigroup Inc. (C) $44.25 +5.61%
Cummins Inc. (CMI) $113.70 +5.47%
Regions Financial Corp. (RF) $8.40 +5.40%
Morgan Stanley (MS) $25.88 +5.29%
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $215.14 +5.25%
Borg Warner Inc. (BWA) $36.75 +5.24%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) $49.15 -4.12%
Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) $65.63 -4.01%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $29.48 -3.75%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $33.93 -3.17%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $62.07 -2.74%
Essex Prty Trust Inc. (ESS) $222.95 -2.49%
Equity Residential (EQR) $70.56 -2.49%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $23.20 -2.48%
Apartment Investment & Management Co. (AIV) $40.62 -2.36%
McCormick & Co. (MKC) $96.72 -2.20%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $61.79 +4.23%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $79.13 +3.98%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $159.85 +3.59%
American Express Co. (AXP) $62.16 +2.44%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $99.48 +2.19%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $28.23 +2.13%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.54 +1.81%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $59.58 +1.76%
Visa Inc. (V) $79.71 +1.52%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $104.61 +1.48%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $46.04 -1.31%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.29 -1.27%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $126.89 -0.56%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $82.46 -0.45%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $133.84 -0.40%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $10.88 +6.98%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $29.58 +5.27%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $35.16 +5.02%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $88.52 +4.14%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $48.71 +3.93%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $63.79 +3.82%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $55.56 +3.56%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $193.98 +3.51%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $27.14 +3.39%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $77.07 +3.26%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $33.93 -3.17%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $77.40 -1.19%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $128.88 -1.01%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $32.46 -0.55%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $152.88 -0.44%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $81.08 -0.28%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $38.85 -0.10%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $110.51 -0.09%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $53.06 -0.06%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $97.19 -0.05%