Wall Street ends higher after factory data; Dow, S&P up for week

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday after surprisingly strong manufacturing data overshadowed expectations that the Federal Reserve might reduce stimulus earlier than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 rose for the week as well, their fourth straight week of gains.

Factory activity expanded around the world, several business surveys showed, with Chinese manufacturers reporting the fastest upturn in 18 months. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Friday its index of U.S. factory activity rose to 56.4 in October, its best reading since April 2011.

While the news underscored views that the Federal Reserve may be considering scaling back its stimulus sooner than some market participants have been expecting, it also gave investors surprising evidence of the manufacturing sector's strength.

The reports "confirmed that maybe the economy isn't quite as weak or rolling over" as some expected, said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, which manages about $58 billion in assets.

The Fed on Wednesday decided to continue its stimulus program, citing economic weakness.

Boeing Co shares gained 1.9 percent to $133.03, a day after it said it would increase production of its 737 aircraft to 47 planes per month by 2017 from 38 now - a move that analysts said bodes well for the company.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 69.80 points, or 0.45 percent, to end at 15,615.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> gained 5.10 points, or 0.29 percent, to finish at 1,761.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> added 2.34 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 3,922.04.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.5 percent.

On the Nasdaq, shares of First Solar Inc jumped 17.6 percent to $59.14 after the U.S. solar panel manufacturer's results beat forecasts and the company raised its full-year profit outlook.

Among decliners, shares of Chevron Corp slid 1.6 percent to $118.01 after third-quarter revenue fell short of expectations.

American International Group Inc dropped 6.5 percent to $48.28, a day after the insurer reported earnings that slightly beat expectations. However, analysts expected better results in the insurer's consumer lines business and said it benefited from a favorable tax rate this most recent quarter.

The latest results show the mixed picture in earnings. With about 74 percent of S&P 500 companies having reported results so far, 68.5 percent have topped Wall Street's expectations, above the long-term average of 63 percent, while just 53.3 percent have topped revenue forecasts, below the 61 percent average since 2002, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Although the three major U.S. stock indexes ended Friday's session with modest gains, the market's breadth was negative.

Decliners outnumbered advancers by a ratio of 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, while on the Nasdaq, three stocks fell for every two that rose.

(Additional reporting by Luke Swiderski Editing by Nick Zieminski and Jan Paschal)

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Global shares, gold creep higher as Fed decision nears

By Richard Hubbard

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares and gold inched higher on Wednesday as investors wagered that the U.S. Federal Reserve would signal plans later in the day to keep its stimulus intact for several more months.

However, after solid rallies across most riskier asset markets in the run-up to the decision, investors were wary of driving prices much higher until they hear what the Fed has to say about future plans for scaling back its stimulus.

"Tapering, while put off right now, will come back quite soon. We think in the first half of next year they are going to reduce that stimulus," said Christian Schulz, senior economist at Berenberg Bank.

A majority of U.S. primary dealers surveyed by Reuters confirmed that the recent government shutdown and standoff over raising the debt ceiling had made it more likely the Fed would delay the timing of its stimulus reduction. The Fed will release a statement at 1800 GMT after a two-day meeting.

The conviction that it would delay any move to end its steady cash injections though was enough to see the MSCI world equity index add 0.2 percent in early European trade to bring it back to a level last seen in January 2009.

Europe's broad FTSE Eurofirst 300 index also reached its highest peak in five years after a gain of 0.3 percent in early trading.

European shares were supported by some solid corporate earnings news from the likes of clothing retailer Next , and after Wall Street's strong finish on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 set life-time closing highs when a key gauge of consumer sentiment showed confidence tumbled in October, adding to recent evidence of sluggish economic growth.

A report on private sector jobs growth in the United States for October due out later should add further weight to the view that this month's political showdown in Washington has caused a setback in the nascent recovery.

DOLLAR DULL

In the currency market, the dollar touched a one-week high against a basket of major currencies as investors who had been selling the greenback trimmed positions ahead of the announcement.

Dollar sellers had driven the U.S. unit to nine-month lows by the end of last week, taking their lead from steady easing in U.S. Treasury yields. The 10-year T-note stood at around 2.5 percent, down from 3 percent in September when the Fed first delayed a widely-anticipated tapering decision.

Against the yen, the dollar was steady at 98.17 yen JPY=, also close to a one-week high.

The euro meanwhile held firm at $1.3741, and showed little reaction to data confirming that Spain's economy emerged from recession between July and September after contracting for nine quarters.

Commodity markets were mostly holding their ground as the Fed announcement neared, with gold seen the most exposed to any extension in the Fed's money printing programme due its role as protector against the ravages of any future inflation.

Gold has risen about 7 percent from a three-month low on October 15 when investors began to price in a tapering delay and was up 0.2 percent at $1,346.11 an ounce.

Conversely, Brent crude oil slipped slightly as the Fed announcement neared and was trading under $109 a barrel though prices were expected to be supported by the announcement.

"If (the Fed) acts as expected and there is no change in their position, it will likely support oil prices, but not cause them to be pushed up significantly," Tetsu Emori, a commodities fund manager at Astmax Investments, said.

Brent oil futures lost 7 cents to $108.94 a barrel while U.S. crude oil dipped 65 cents to $97.54.

Traders termed this partly a consolidation after a big gain on Monday when reports of a sharp drop in Libyan oil exports rekindled worries over global supply. (Additional reporting by David Sheppard; editing by Stephen Nisbet)

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Wall Street ends higher after Fed-affirming jobs report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 to yet another record high, after weaker-than-expected job creation last month reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will hold the course on its economic stimulus into next year.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 75.78 points, or 0.49 percent, at 15,467.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 10.05 points, or 0.58 percent, at 1,754.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 9.52 points, or 0.24 percent, at 3,929.57.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

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Wall Street opens higher after payroll report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday after weaker-than-expected job creation last month raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to stimulate the economy at the current pace.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 22.92 points, or 0.15 percent, at 15,415.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 3.86 points, or 0.22 percent, at 1,748.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 14.35 points, or 0.37 percent, at 3,934.40.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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