US stocks rose yesterday as a surge in global commodity prices propelled mining and energy shares higher, while technology shares gained after a top strategist said they were a good value.
Oil prices rose to a third straight closing record high and metal prices advanced as the US dollar fell, driving up the shares of Chevron Corp and Alcoa Inc These two stocks ranked as the biggest positive influences on the Dow.
Technology shares also exerted a major positive influence after a Merrill Lynch strategist said they were a good value.
The market's advance was limited, though, by financial shares. The sector fell for a second day on concerns that new disclosure requirements for investment banks, envisioned by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, may hurt bank profits.
Investors again took heart from fresh data suggesting the economy, while soft, was not crumbling rapidly.
"There's a shift in the overall sentiment, with people thinking that the US and the world's economies aren't in such bad shape," said Cleveland Rueckert, market analyst at Birinyi Associates Inc in Stamford, Connecticut. "So that means there's still going to be construction, demand for copper, raw materials, hence the strength in material stocks today."
The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 52.43 points, or 0.41 percent, at 12,866.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended up 5.11 points, or 0.37 percent, at 1,397.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.75 points, or 0.52 percent, to close at 2,451.24.
CHEVRON JUMPS, ALCOA SHINES
Chevron's stock added 2.2 percent to US$97.44 on the New York Stock Exchange, boosting both the Dow and the S&P 500.
Alcoa's shares climbed 4.1 percent to US$39.65 and ranked as the Dow's second-best influence, behind Chevron.
Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp contributed the most to the S&P 500's advance. Exxon gained 1.3 percent to close at US$89.93 on the NSYE. The oil index rose 1.3 percent.
US crude for June delivery settled at US$123.69 a barrel, up 16 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange. After the NYMEX regular session ended, US crude extended gains and rose to a record US$124.61 a barrel.
Another standout among miners was Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, whose stock finished up 3.2 percent at US$118.07 on the NYSE. The prices of gold, silver and platinum headed higher as the US dollar lost ground against the euro.
COMEX gold was up 1.4 percent, while silver gained 1.2 percent. July platinum gained nearly 3 percent.
Shares of Caterpillar Inc, whose excavators and bulldozers are used in mining and construction, advanced 1 percent to US$82.42, making the stock one of the biggest positive influences on the Dow.
A LITTLE APPLE POLISHING
On the Nasdaq, shares of Apple Inc, the maker of the iPod and the iPhone, climbed 1.4 percent to US$185.06, while shares of Qualcomm Inc, a wireless chip and technology supplier, finished up 1.3 percent to US$44.10.
Chip maker Intel Corp's shares rose 1 percent to US$23.40 on the Nasdaq. Merrill Lynch's chief investment strategist, Richard Bernstein, told CNBC that some of the bigger capitalization tech stocks offered good value and were under owned.
Investors sold financial stocks after weighing the impact of the SEC's disclosure plans. An S&P index of financial shares fell 1.2 percent. Bank of America Corp , the No. 2 US bank, was the top drag on the S&P 500. Its shares ended down 1.8 percent at US$37.33 on the NYSE, while shares of US investment bank Morgan Stanley dropped 1.6 percent to US$46.48.
AIG FALLS LATE ON HUGE LOSS
After the bell, American International Group Inc, the world's largest insurer, posted its biggest-ever quarterly loss -- US$7.81 billion -- hurt by bad mortgage investments. Its stock slid more than 5 percent in after-hours trading from its close on the NYSE at US$44.15. AIG ended regular trade down 2.1 percent.
Economic reports included data showing that the number of US workers filing claims for initial jobless benefits fell more than expected last week.
Several major US retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc, also posted better-than-expected April sales, calming worries about consumer spending amid soaring gasoline prices and no let-up in the housing slump.
But with investors fearful of the impact that higher energy costs will have on consumers, the broader market was rather restrained as consumer-oriented stocks, including Coca-Cola, slipped. The soft drink's maker shares ended down 1.3 percent at US$56.29 after its chief executive forecast that US sales of the company's carbonated soft drinks will fall slightly this year, but rise in 2009.
Volume was light on the New York Stock Exchange, where about 1.21 billion shares changed hands, below last year's estimated daily average of 1.90 billion. On the Nasdaq, about 2.10 billion shares traded, below last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a ratio of about 3 to 2, and on Nasdaq, by about 7 to 6.