Friday, February 4, 2011

S&P 500 posts best week in nine, tech leads

The S&P 500 posted its best week in nine as the market defied calls for a pullback, and investors rotated into defensive and lagging sectors in a move that could intensify in coming weeks.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 29.89 points, or 0.25 percent, at 12,092.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 3.77 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,310.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 15.42 points, or 0.56 percent, at 2,769.30.

European shares ended slightly higher after paring gains on a mixed US jobs report, while construction stocks remained among the top gainers thanks to an improving outlook.

After selling off slightly on the initial numbers, released prior to the US open, the FTSEurofirst 300 traded flat after US markets opened lower, before recovering to end up 0.2 percent at 1,165.27 points.

The Nikkei average rose to a two-week high, after a planned merger of two steel firms lifted hopes for restructuring in corporate Japan and provided fresh momentum for the benchmark which had been widely seen as due for a correction.

The benchmark Nikkei ended the day up 1.1 percent, or 112.16 points, at 10,543.52, its highest level since Jan. 19 and not far off this year's intraday high of 10,620.57 hit on Jan. 13, which has become the benchmark's immediate target.