US close: S&P closes at highest level since 31 December

A broad advance on Wall Street pushed the S&P 500 past the psychological 2,000-point mark, as markets on both sides of the Atlantic registered gains in the wake of the European Central Bank's policy stimulus barrage on the previous day.

The Dow Jones Industrials racked up gains of 1.28% on Friday, taking it to 17,213.31 points, alongside a 1.85% rise in the Nasdaq Composite to 4,748.47 and of 1.64% for the S&P 500 to 2,022.19, with the latter paring its year-to-date loss to 1.1%.

From a sector standpoint, the advance was paced by the following industrial groups: Consumer electronics (5.68%), Coal (5.50%), Real estate (4.22%) and Exploration and production (4.20%).

Oil prices gained after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly report there were signs oil prices “might have bottomed out” and there is now “light at the end of what has been a long dark tunnel”.

The IEA estimated that oil production outside the OPEC cartel will fall by 750,000 barrels a day this year - 150,000 barrels a day more than it estimated last month - easing concerns about the supply glut. Iranian production was also coming onstream more slowly than Tehran had claimed, the rich-world's oil watchdog said.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 1.82% to $38.49 per barrel on the NYMEX and gold futures were to be seen off by 1.7% to $1,251 per ounce on COMEX.

"There are clear signs that market forces ... are working their magic and higher-cost producers are cutting output," the IEA said.

US import prices fell for an eighth straight month in February although by less than analysts had expected. The Labor Department said import prices dropped 0.3% last month after a revised 1.0% decrease in January. Analysts had pencilled in a 0.7% slide.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note rose by five basis points to 1.98%, ahead of next week's FOMC rate meeting.

Yellen&Co. were not expected to move on rates on 16 March but traders had priced-in a 51% probability of another rate hike for when Fed rate-setters met in June. One month ago the odds of such a scenario were pegged at under 2.0%, according to calculations from Bloomberg.

In corporate news, Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance shares surged after its fourth quarter numbers beat analysts’ expectations.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals drifted lower despite the biotechnology company saying its rheumatoid arthritis drug had met its primary endpoint and was superior to a competitor’s drug when it came to improving symptoms.

In currencies, the dollar slipped 0.21% versus the European single currency, settling at 1.1154 by the end of trading.

S&P 500 - Risers
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $24.78 +10.23%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $8.00 +10.19%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) $46.29 +8.92%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $27.54 +8.60%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $27.60 +8.24%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $13.74 +6.59%
Legg Mason Inc. (LM) $33.23 +6.54%
Hess Corp. (HES) $51.26 +6.19%
Harman International Industries Inc. (HAR) $81.41 +6.07%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $33.39 +6.00%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Pepco Holdings Inc. (POM) $22.07 -8.99%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $28.70 -2.58%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $26.68 -2.45%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $33.04 -1.73%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $62.01 -1.57%
Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) $51.08 -1.56%
Graham Holdings Co. (GHC) $491.59 -1.54%
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG) $44.33 -1.53%
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPS) $91.04 -1.17%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $56.49 -0.91%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $30.50 +3.08%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $63.83 +2.69%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $125.10 +2.47%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $128.46 +2.04%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $60.08 +2.04%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $72.80 +2.02%
Visa Inc. (V) $71.63 +2.01%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $53.07 +1.96%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $153.94 +1.93%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $113.64 +1.89%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $81.75 -0.64%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $67.17 -0.36%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.20 -0.07%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $191.62 +17.28%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $88.27 +5.59%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $27.83 +5.46%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $42.40 +4.95%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $86.26 +4.84%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $11.39 +4.69%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $63.70 +4.39%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $49.88 +4.16%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $72.77 +4.00%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $182.98 +3.92%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $33.04 -1.73%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $46.86 -0.28%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $377.12 -0.12%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $152.71 -0.10%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $33.04 -0.09%