daytrading august 2 pre-market, page-6

U.S. S&P 500 closes big, very big

U.S. stocks rallied big on Thursday, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index above 1,700 for the first time, after central banks vowed to maintain stimulus and data on global manufacturing beat forecasts.

U.S. jobless claims fell to a five-year low, while an ISM manufacturing survey also came in better-than-expected as did PMI readings in Europe and China.

Within minutes of market close, the Dow was up 129 points at 15,629, the Nasdaq gained 50 points to 3,676 and the S&P 500 added 21 points to 1,707.

The S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent to 1,706.75 in New York.

Monthly gain

The benchmark index gained 5 percent in July, its biggest monthly advance since January. The gauge is trading at 15.5 times estimated earnings.

Manufacturing in the U.S. expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years as orders and production jumped, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index. Separate reports overseas showed manufacturing grew more than forecast in China and Europe.

In the U.S., applications for unemployment insurance payments declined by 19,000 to 326,000 in the week ended July 27, the fewest since January 2008, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. This is well below economist forecasts.

Labor Department data tomorrow may show U.S. employers added 185,000 people to payrolls in July, as the jobless rate fell to 7.5 percent from 7.6 percent.

Fed bond buying

The Fed said yesterday that persistently low inflation could hamper the economy and pledged to keep buying $85 billion in bonds every month. The statement came as data showed the U.S. economy grew more than projected in the second quarter.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said today that recent economic indicators signal that the euro region is through the worst and reiterated that officials plan to keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future.

Corporate news

On the corporate front, car makers reported auto sales for the month of July, with GM (NYSE:GM), Ford (NYSE:F) and Chrysler all reporting disappointing results for the month, impacted by low inventory of some popular car models. Economists are predicting, looking at the results, that the annual sales rate for July will be around 15.4 million vehicles, below the consensus forecast of 15.8 million.

Elsewhere, in earnings news, Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) shares rose 1.6% even after fiscal fourth quarter earnings fell 48% due to restructuring and other charges, as sales and volumes rose, with the company projecting 2013 profit would climb at least as much as last year.

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) shares dropped more than 5.7% Thursday after its second quarter net profit plummeted on a $2.2 billion charge tied to liquids-rich shale properties in North America.

Shares of Yelp (NYSE:YELP) surged more than 23% after the company reported results that topped analyst estimates late Wednesday.

After the closing bell Thursday, Linkedin (NYSE:LNKD) is due to report second quarter results, with earnings of 16 cents per share expected.

In other stock news, J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) was drawing attention after the company denied a report that CIT Group (NYSE:CIT), the largest commercial lender in the U.S. apparel industry, had stopped supporting deliveries from small manufacturers to Penney stores due to credit fears. The retailer said CIT had told it the report is untrue, adding that it has the support of all of its key vendors. Shares were lately flat, after the stock was also downgraded by Citigroup to a "sell" rating.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were up 0.75% after Jefferies & Co raised its price target on the stock to $450 from $405, though keeping the rating on the stock at hold.

In other news Thursday, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank both left their rates and policies unchanged, with Draghi's reiterating that rates would remain at record lows for an extended period.

Commodities

Gold for December delivery fell $1.80, or 0.1%, as the U.S. dollar got stronger, to settle at $1,311.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. September crude oil added $2.86, or 2.7%, to settle at $107.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the positive U.S. economic data.