Volume:	1,693.7M
Value:	$945.4M
Gainers/Losers:	262/129

Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	17920.33		113.27	0.64%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2109.41		10.28	0.49%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ	4968.71		26.20	0.53%

 

 

S & P closes at 2016 high after Yellen energy posts best day since April

U.S. stocks closed higher Monday, with energy leading as oil rose, after comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen remained positive on the economy while omitting a specific reference to the timing of a rate hike.

The S & P 500 closed at its highest since Nov. 3 and 1.1 percent below its 52-week intraday high set last July. Energy jumped about 2 percent in its best day since April, as U.S. crude oil futures settled at their highest since July.

" You have oil prices moving higher and that' s been helpful," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial.

Yellen' s midday remarks at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia did not give a specific time period for the next hike but said the Fed funds rate probably needs to rise gradually over time. Yellen said while the overall labor market situation has been quite positive, Friday' s report He was " disappointing."

The market " realized pretty quickly she was not talking about a rate hike next week," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth. " I think one' s coming but that should not knock the market off this level. A rate hike followed by an indication that another would soon follow, that would knock the market off. "

" I still think July is still a possibility. I think June is off the table," said John Caruso, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

On May 27, Yellen had said a rate hike in the next few months would probably be appropriate.

US crude oil futures settled 2.2 percent higher, or $ 1.07, at $ 49.69 a barrel, while brent traded above $ 50 to hit a fresh high for the year so far. The gains in oil were supported by a soft US dollar and near-term supply disruptions from attacks on Nigerian oil infrastructure.

" This (rise in oil prices) is all very positive for that sector of the economy that has been a concern from a credit risk point of view," said Marc Chaikin, CEO of Chaikin Analytics.

He also noted support for stocks overall from gains in small-cap stocks.

In economic news, Reuters reported the Fed' s index on labor market conditions fell in May for a seventh-straight month to minus 4.8, the lowest since May 2009.

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Volume:	859.5M
Value:	$808.9M
Gainers/Losers:	212/191

Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	17807.06		-31.50	-0.18%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2099.13		-6.13	-0.29%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ	4942.52		-28.85	-0.58%

 

Stocks close slightly lower after jobs miss

U.S. stocks closed slightly lower Friday, as gains in utilities offset declines in financials after a sharp miss on the May jobs report.

The major averages came well off session lows to close slightly lower on the day and narrowly mixed for the week. The Dow Jones industrial average closed about 31 points lower after earlier falling 148 points with Goldman Sachs contributing the most to declines.

" Positioning is still playing a big role. The positioning coming into the day was the economy' s strong and the Fed will hike ... and today' s action is just an unwind of that," said Ilya Feygin, managing director and senior strategist at WallachBeth Capital .

Traders also attributed some of the recovery to short-covering.

Fed funds futures showed markets were pricing in an 8 percent chance of a June rate hike, and 33 percent in July, according to RBS. Chances for a September hike were 54 percent, and 90 percent in December, with the first full rate hike now factored in for March 2017, RBS said.

" I think this employment number was a fluke and an aberration," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial. " I do not think it points to a real slowdown. Investors are beginning to have second thoughts about it."

In other economic news, factory orders rose 1.9 percent in April.

The final Markit services PMI was 51.3 in May, down from 52.8 in April and well below the post-crisis average of 55.6, Markit said.

" I think some of the slowdown on the jobs growth reflects the slow growth we saw in the first quarter and the fourth quarter," said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones.

U.S. crude oil futures settled down 55 cents, or 1.12 percent, at $ 48.62 a barrel. The U.S. rig count rose for the first time in 11 weeks.

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