Stocks in U.S., Crude Oil Advance While Treasuries, Yen Decline
March 29, 2011, 5:09 PM EDT
By Nick Baker and Nikolaj Gammeltoft
March 29 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a three-week high, as energy and consumer shares rallied and the equity measure rebounded from a level watched by chart analysts. Treasuries declined as the government sold $35 billion of five-year notes.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.7 percent to 1,319.44 at 4 p.m. in New York. It advanced after falling to 1,305.26, compared with yesterday’s 50-day average of 1,306.11, a bullish sign to some traders. Yields on five-year notes added five basis points to 2.23 percent. The yen fell to 116.39 per euro, the weakest level since May, amid speculation central banks in Europe and the U.S. may curtail stimulus measures. Crude oil rose 0.8 percent to $104.79 a barrel, breaking a three-day losing streak.
Home Depot Inc. rallied after selling $2 billion in debt to help fund stock buybacks, while Schlumberger Ltd. helped lead energy stocks higher as oil rose and Baker Hughes Inc. Chief Executive Officer Chad Deaton said Saudi Arabia will deploy more drilling rigs. Equities climbed three days before a government report forecast to show U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose 190,000.
“We found support at the 50-day moving average today,” said Donald Selkin, the New York-based chief market strategist at National Securities Corp., which manages $3 billion. “We should continue like this until we get the jobs report on Friday, which may or may not break us out of this range.”
32-Month High
The S&P 500 closed at a 32-month high of 1,343.01 on Feb. 18 before falling to 1,256.88 on March 16. It dropped below its 50-day average at least four times today, rebounding within three minutes each time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The advance by U.S. shares reversed losses in the MSCI All-Country World Index of stocks in 45 nations, which climbed 0.2 percent after declining 0.5