Stocks End Sharply Higher for a Second Straight Day
Stocks ended sharply higher for a second straight day amid hopes that central banks will take coordinated action to provide liquidity to financial markets after Sunday’s Greek election. Stocks were also lifted on expectations of further monetary easing from the Federal Reserve following weaker than expected U.S. economic data.
The Dow Jones ended the day 0.91% higher at 12,767.17, the S&P 500 ended the day 1.03% higher at 1,342.83, and the Nasdaq ended the day 1.29% higher at 2,872.80.
For the week, the Dow Jones rose 1.7%, the S&P 500 rose 1.3%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.5%.
All sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day in green. The gains in the S&P 500 were led by the Energy sector, which ended the day 1.76% higher. Basic Materials sector also rose sharply, ending the day 1.17% higher. Technology sector rose 1.29%. Conglomerates ended the day 1.28% higher. Consumer Cyclical sector rose 1.19%.
Among the major gainers in trading today were YPF SA (ADR) (NYSE: YPF), which ended the day 6.89% higher at $11.17, Zimmer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZMH), which ended the day 4.24% higher at $63.20, and Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE), which ended the day 1.08% higher at $28.01.
On the economic front, a report released by the Federal Reserve showed that factory production fell 0.4% in May. Industrial production, meanwhile, dropped 0.1% in May. Investors also got a preliminary reading on the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index for June. The index fell to 74.1 in June. Finally, the New York Fed’s Empire State general business conditions index dropped to 2.3 in June. The latest set of economic data has raised the prospects of further monetary easing from the Fed.
European markets also ended higher today, with the FTSE 100 Index in London closing 0.22% higher, and the CAC 40 Index in Paris closing 1.82% higher. Asian markets also rose overnight.
All eyes are now set on the crucial Greek election this Sunday. Political uncertainty in Greece could further escalate the euro zone debt crisis.
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Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.
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