US stocks rose today, with the S&P 500 moving within points of record levels, as a pair of retail stocks rallied following strong results.
Major indexes had traded lower for much of the session, pressured by some disappointing data, but turned higher in midday trading.
The S&P climbed to record intraday levels yesterday, but the index pulled back in the afternoon and failed to close at a record. The benchmark index is currently 0.5 percent under its record.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 11.66 points, or 0.07 percent, at 16,218.80. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 1.44 points, or 0.08 percent, at 1,849.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 7.31 points, or 0.17 percent, at 4,300.28.
Many traders are looking ahead to Thursday, when Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will speak to the Senate Banking Committee in semi-annual testimony about monetary policy. Her comments will be scoured for insight into how bad weather has affected economic activity, as well as for confirmation the Fed will not change its schedule for trimming stimulus.
European mining shares ended lower in choppy trading as the sector absorbed a fresh knock from China, with weak corporate outlooks hurting companies such as Fresenius and Seadrill.
After weathering a torrid 2013 on concerns about slowing growth in the world’s top metals consumer, the STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index started the year brightly, adding 8 percent in a run to the February high, only to cede about half those gains over the last four days.
the broader FTSEurofirst 300, which fell earlier in the session, recovered in late trading in line with a rise in U.S. shares . The FTSEurofirst closed flat at 1,351.44 points, after hitting an intra-day low of 1,343.80 and gaining in the previous seven straight sessions.
The Nikkei average advanced to a four-week closing high after a rally in Wall Street shares to historic highs triggered short-covering in battered Japanese stocks.
The Nikkei rose 1.4 percent to 15,051.60, its highest close since Jan. 29. It has recovered more than 40 percent of its losses since it fell from a six-year peak hit in late December.
buenosairesherald.com