March 29, 2024

Chinese Data, Again, Lifts the Markets

The stock market rose on Tuesday and oil prices fell as the prospect that the United States would attack Syria appeared to fade.

The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index posted its sixth consecutive gain, its longest winning streak since July.

Investors were relieved that Syria said it was ready to cooperate with a proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control for dismantling. The possibility of resolving the crisis between the United States and Syria without a military attack was also a factor in the stock market’s gain on Monday.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 127.94 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 15,191.06. The Standard Poor’s 500 rose 12.28 points, or 0.73 percent, to 1,683.99, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 22.84 points, or 0.62 percent, to 3,729.02.

Crude oil, which settled above $110 a barrel on Friday, lost $2.13, almost 2 percent, to settle at $107.39 a barrel. Even though Syria is not a big oil producer, the possibility of a wider conflict in the Mideast drove oil prices to two-year highs last week.

Despite the recent gains for stocks, Ralph Fogel of Fogel Neale Partners said it was about time for a pullback in the market. He noted that the Dow had more than doubled since the depths of the financial crisis in March 2009.

The years since the crisis have had “almost a straight-up market without a 15 percent correction,” Mr. Fogel said. “That’s a pretty neat move.” He added, “That doesn’t mean you have to have one, but the probability starts to get higher and higher.”

“The next significant move isn’t up 20” percent, he said. “It’s down 20.”

Scott Wren, a senior equity strategist for Wells Fargo Advisors, said investors remained nervous. “A lot of our clients are sitting on too much cash and are kind of paranoid of the market,” he said.

Among the stocks on the move on Tuesday, Apple dropped $11.53, or 2.3 percent, to close at $494.60 after investors were underwhelmed by its new iPhones.

Urban Outfitters fell $4.36, or 10 percent, to $38.35 after saying its sales increases were weaker than earlier in the year.

In the bond market, interest rates moved higher. The 10-year Treasury note fell 14/32, to 96 1/32, while its yield rose to 2.97 percent from 2.91 percent.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss