US stocks ended the week on 01 March 2013 on a steady note. Indices registered modest gains for the week. While the Dow registered moderate gains, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended with mild gains. Election at Italy and economic data at Wall Street dominated the week. Indices registered moderate gains on the last day of the week.
For the week, the Dow ended higher by 89.09 points (0.6%) at 14,089.66. Nasdaq ended higher by 7.92 points (0.3%) at 3,169.74. S&P 500 ended higher by 2.6 points (0.2%) at 1,518.2.
On Monday, equities endured a broad sell off which saw the S&P 500 drop 1.8%. Bearish sentiment built into the afternoon as the likely deadlock in the Italian general election weighed on markets. Stocks got off to a broadly higher start as early "instant polls" suggested Pier Luigi Bersani, who is a supporter of reforms started by Mario Monti, was destined for full control of the government. However, once the initial reports were followed by exit polls indicating a much closer race, European markets surrendered the bulk of their gains.
Tuesday saw the S&P 500 end with a gain of 0.6% despite enduring some early weakness. The benchmark average started the day on a positive note with upbeat economic data proving insufficient in staving off the early selling pressure. However, markets staged a rebound in afternoon trade with the key indices climbing to fresh highs. Strong housing data coupled with a healthy rise in December home prices provided support for homebuilders.
Wednesday's session was an extension of Tuesday's buying as the S&P 500 managed to erase the remainder of its losses from Monday. The broad rally occurred with six of 10 sectors adding in excess of 1.0%. Cyclical stocks led the way with industrials and materials exhibiting relative strength from the start of the session.
On Thursday, equities ended February on a negative note as the S&P 500 settled with a slim loss of 0.1%. The key averages saw some morning indecision but late afternoon buying pushed the benchmark index to session highs before the index surrendered its gains. J.C. Penney's quarterly earnings caught the attention of investors in early trade. Shares of the retailer plunged 17.0% after the company reported a loss of $1.95 on below-consensus revenue. In response, S&P cut the company's debt rating to 'CCC+' from 'B-' and assigned a negative outlook
U.S. stocks rose on Friday, 01 March 2013 as upbeat consumer confidence and manufacturing data countered concern about government-spending cuts. The Dow industrials added 35.17 points, or 0.3%, to 14,089.66. The S&P 500 index advanced 3.52 points, or 0.2%, to 1,518.20, with health care faring best and industrials leading declines among its 10 major sectors. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 9.55 points, or 0.3%, to 3,169.74.
The government-sponsored version of China's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index dipped to 50.1 in February, down from January's 50.4-point level, and below expectations for a reading of 50.5.
Economic data released on Friday was plentiful. For the U.S., Markit's manufacturing purchasing-managers index showed a final reading of 54.3, in February, down from 55.8 in January. But the ISM manufacturing index accelerated in February, climbing to a better than expected 54.2% from 53.1% in January.
Personal income fell 3.6% in January after increasing 2.6% in December. The consensus expected income to fall 2.4%. The expiration of the payroll tax cut and the giveback following the December boost to asset receipts were expected to lower income levels in January. Those two components accounted for 3.5 percentage points of the January pullback. More concerning was that the remainder of the decline in income was the result of a 0.4% drop in employee compensation.
The final reading of the February University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index improved to 77.6 from a preliminary reading of 76.3.
Construction spending took a sizable hit in January as spending fell 2.1% after increasing an upwardly revised 1.1% (from 0.9%) in December. The consensus expected construction spending to increase 0.5%. Both private (-2.6%) and public (-1.0%) spending contracted in February.
Manufacturing activity strengthened in February as the ISM Manufacturing Index increased from 53.1 in January to 54.2. That is the strongest reading since June 2011.
The dollar index, which weighs the strength of the copper against a basket of six other currencies rose by 0.4% on Friday.
Best Buy was another sector component which outperformed on better-than-expected earnings. However, the company warned it expects to face significant first quarter pressure and said founder Richard Schulze has ended his attempt to purchase the retailer.
Among major stocks under focus, Groupon rallied nearly 13% a day after the daily-deals provider fired its CEO following a disappointing quarter. Gap shares gained 2.9% after the clothing retailer tallied fourth-quarter profit that exceeded estimates. Salesforce.com gained 7.8% after posting better-than-anticipated results for its fourth quarter.
Crude-oil futures at Nymex fell on Friday, 03 March 2013 to mark their lowest settlement of the year as disappointing Chinese manufacturing data and record euro-zone unemployment dulled the outlook for energy demand. Light and sweer crude oil for April delivery shaved off $1.37, or 1.5%, to settle at $90.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold for delivery in April fell $5.80, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,572.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. May silver bucked the overall trend in metals, closing up 6 cents, or 0.2%, at $28.49 an ounce. It's higher than last Friday's March contract close of $28.46.
For every three stocks that declined roughly four gained on the New York Stock Exchange, where 743 million shares traded. Composite volume neared 3.7 billion.
Indian ADRs ended mixed on Friday. In the IT space, Infosys was up 0.07% and Wipro was up 0.52%. In the Banking space, HDFC Bank was up 0.3% and ICICI Bank was down 0.3%. In the Telecom space, Tata Communication was down 0.9%. In other space, Tata Motors was down 1.5%, Dr Reddys was down 1.7% and Sterlite was down 1.7%.
For the year, the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 are trading higher by 7.5%, 5% and 6.5% respectively. There is no economic data scheduled to be released on Monday. On Tuesday, the February ISM Services Index will be reported at 10:00 ET.
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