Thursday, January 24, 2013

Global stocks edge higher, data offsets Apple's plunge

World equity and commodity markets rose today on encouraging economic data, but a steep sell-off in Apple shares that wiped out about $50 billion of its market value threatened to snuff a six-day streak of gains in US stocks.

Early US stock gains pushed the S&P 500 above the 1,500 mark for the first time since Dec. 12, 2007 and put the benchmark index on pace for a seventh straight advance, its longest winning streak since October 2006. Stocks later pared some gains, with the S&P falling below the 1,500 mark.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 66.30 points, or 0.48 percent, at 13,845.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.46 points, or 0.16 percent, at 1,497.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 17.66 points, or 0.56 percent, at 3,136.01.

European shares hit their 2013 peak today as signs of growth in economic powerhouse Germany strengthened expectations that the region's sovereign debt crisis may be easing.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index ended up 0.3 percent at 1,171.06 points - a new closing high for 2013. Earlier in the day, the index had reached an intraday high of 1,171.78 points, its best level since early March 2011.

The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index gained 0.5 percent to 2,722.96 points, with stock markets further boosted after the U.S. S&P 500 index rose above the key 1,500 point level for the first time since December 2007.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei share average rose, snapping a three-day losing streak after strong Chinese manufacturing data helped firms with high exposure to the world's second-largest economy, while exporters gained ground after the yen weakened.

The Nikkei gained 1.3 percent to 10,620.87, climbing back above the 10,600 level after hitting a three-week closing low yesterday. The Nikkei is down 2.68 percent so far this week, on track to snap a 10-week winning streak that was its longest string of weekly gains since 1987.