Asian Futures Rise Amid S&P 500 Record While Oil Extends Decline

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Futures on indexes from Japan to Australia climbed as growth in U.S. manufacturing propelled the Standard & Poor™s 500 Index to a record. The yen held near a 3 1/2-week low versus the dollar while oil extended declines.

Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures rose 0.6 percent to 14,900 in Chicago as contracts on Australia™s S&P/ASX 200 Index and gauges in Hong Kong and South Korea added at least 0.1 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed after the benchmark U.S. measure rose 0.7 percent to an all-time high of 1,885.52. Japan™s currency was at 103.65 per dollar following four declining days, while Asian emerging-market currency forwards signaled gains. Oil in New York fell a third day.

Investors shrugged off conflicting data on Chinese manufacturing, focusing on an acceleration in U.S. factory output for March and euro-zone manufacturing growth near the fastest pace in almost three years. A private report today is projected to show U.S. employers added more workers last month before non-farm payrolls data due April 4. The Bank of Japan reports on inflation while in China, a newspaper said that a building-materials company missed a coupon payment on its high-yield bonds.

Copy Source : Bloomberg

S&P 500 Rises to Record as Consumer, Tech Shares Rally Amid Data

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U.S. stocks rose, as consumer and technology shares pushed the Standard & Poor™s 500 Index to an all-time high, after an increase in a manufacturing index boosted optimism the economy withstood severe winter weather.

Cisco Systems Inc. jumped 3.9 percent, the most since May, to lead technology shares higher. Celgene Corp. rallied 5 percent to pace gains among biotechnology stocks after entering a cooperation with a cancer-drug research firm. MGM Resorts International added 2.6 percent to lead casino stocks higher after Macau gambling revenue increased last month. Ford Motor Co. climbed the most since 2012 after March sales topped estimates.

The S&P 500 gained 0.7 percent to 1,885.52 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 74.95 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16,532.61, the highest close this year. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.6 percent for a third day of gains. About 6.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 6 percent lower than the three-month average.

Copy Source : Bloomberg

Gold Posts Longest Slump Since November Amid U.S. Equity Rally

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Gold posted the longest slump in more than four months as U.S. stocks rose to a record, crimping demand for the precious metal as a haven asset.

The Standard & Poor™s 500 Index of shares has climbed 20 percent in the past year, reaching an all-time high today. U.S. manufacturing expanded at a faster pace in March, a private report showed. German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday and said he had ordered a partial withdrawal of troops from Ukraine™s eastern border.

Gold futures for June delivery slipped 0.3 percent to settle at $1,280 an ounce at 1:47 p.m. on the Comex in New York, after touching $1,277.40, the lowest since Feb. 11. The metal fell for a fifth session, the longest slide since Nov. 13.

Prices slumped 2.9 percent in March, the first loss since December. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said last month the central bank™s debt-buying program may end this year with interest rates starting to rise in early 2015. Bullion rose 70 percent from December 2008 to June 2011 as the central bank pumped more than $2 trillion into the financial system and cut interest rates to a record in a bid to boost the economy.

Source : Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Rise on Economy Optimism as Manufacturing Data Gains

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U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor™s 500 Index rising to an intraday record, as consumer and technology shares rallied and an increase in a manufacturing index boosted optimism the economy withstood severe winter weather.

Cisco Systems Inc. jumped 2.5 percent to lead technology shares higher. Celgene Corp. rallied 3.4 percent to pace gains among biotechnology stocks after entering a cooperation with a cancer-drug research firm. Wynn Resorts Ltd. added 2.2 percent to lead casino stocks higher after Macau gambling revenue increased last month. Ford Motor Co. climbed the most since September after March sales topped estimates.

The S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent to 1,879.36 at 12:27 p.m. in New York, trimming an earlier rally of 0.7 percent that put the gauge above its intraday record of 1,883.97 set March 21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 60.60 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,518.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.1 percent for a third day of gains. Trading in S&P 500 stocks was 3.3 percent above the 30-day average at this time of day.

Today marks the fifth time in the past month the S&P 500 climbed above 1,880, only to slip below that level. The gauge reached a closing high of 1,878.04 on March 7.

Copy Source : Bloomberg

European Stocks Advance as U.S. Manufacturing Output Accelerates

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European stocks advanced, after the Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined last month, as a report showed manufacturing in the U.S. expanded at a faster pace in March.

Alstom SA jumped the most since January 2012 after agreeing to sell a unit to Triton. Metso Oyj soared 19 percent after Weir Group Plc proposed a merger with the Finnish maker of rock crushers. ICAP Plc rose 2.6 percent after the world™s largest broker of transactions between banks forecast full-year profit will meet analysts™ estimates, even as sales from its broking unit continued to decline.

The Stoxx 600 gained 0.6 percent to 336.35 at the close of trading. The benchmark gauge fell 1.1 percent in March amid tension between Russia and the West over Ukraine™s Crimea region. The volume of shares changing hands in Stoxx 600 companies today was 15 percent greater than the average of the last 30 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

American manufacturing growth accelerated in March, data showed today. The Institute for Supply Management™s index rose to 53.7 from 53.2 in February. That missed the median economist estimate of 54.0. Readings above 50 signal expansion.

Source : Bloomberg