Tuesday, March 16, 2010 12:28 PM
At noon: A good day for oil and gold
David Berman
Commodity producers led North American stock market indexes higher at midday Tuesday as the price of crude oil and gold jumped on good news from Greece.
At noon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 25 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 10,667. The broader S&P 500 was up 6 points, or 0.5 per cent.
Materials enjoyed by far the biggest gains, rising 1.2 per cent after the price of gold shot up to $1124 (U.S.) an ounce, up nearly $19. Energy stocks also moved higher, rising 0.5 per cent after crude oil rose to $81.87 a barrel, up $2.07 – oil’s biggest one-day move in a month.
However, the modest upward move by the S&P 500 was remarkably broad, with nine of the 10 subindexes in positive territory. Financials rose 0.7 per cent, industrials rose 0.8 per cent and consumer discretionary stocks rose 0.4 per cent. Health care stocks showed the only declines, dipping less than 0.1 per cent.
Although investors are focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, expected at 2:15 pm (ET), they were likely relieved to hear some good news on the European debt crisis: After warning that Greece’s credit rating could be downgraded, Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday maintained the current rating as investment grade and acknowledged the government’s deficit-fighting measures.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 73 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 12,082.
Here, materials also led the way, rising 1.7 per cent, with gold producers and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. moving up. Financials rose 0.7 per cent and energy stocks rose 0.3 per cent.
The gains weren’t as widespread though, with four of the 10 subindexes losing ground. Information technology stocks fell 1.2 per cent, telecom services fell 0.2 per cent, consumer staples fell 0.1 per cent and industrials falling less than 0.1 per cent.
At noon: A good day for oil and gold
David Berman
Commodity producers led North American stock market indexes higher at midday Tuesday as the price of crude oil and gold jumped on good news from Greece.
At noon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 25 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 10,667. The broader S&P 500 was up 6 points, or 0.5 per cent.
Materials enjoyed by far the biggest gains, rising 1.2 per cent after the price of gold shot up to $1124 (U.S.) an ounce, up nearly $19. Energy stocks also moved higher, rising 0.5 per cent after crude oil rose to $81.87 a barrel, up $2.07 – oil’s biggest one-day move in a month.
However, the modest upward move by the S&P 500 was remarkably broad, with nine of the 10 subindexes in positive territory. Financials rose 0.7 per cent, industrials rose 0.8 per cent and consumer discretionary stocks rose 0.4 per cent. Health care stocks showed the only declines, dipping less than 0.1 per cent.
Although investors are focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, expected at 2:15 pm (ET), they were likely relieved to hear some good news on the European debt crisis: After warning that Greece’s credit rating could be downgraded, Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday maintained the current rating as investment grade and acknowledged the government’s deficit-fighting measures.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 73 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 12,082.
Here, materials also led the way, rising 1.7 per cent, with gold producers and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. moving up. Financials rose 0.7 per cent and energy stocks rose 0.3 per cent.
The gains weren’t as widespread though, with four of the 10 subindexes losing ground. Information technology stocks fell 1.2 per cent, telecom services fell 0.2 per cent, consumer staples fell 0.1 per cent and industrials falling less than 0.1 per cent.