The Nasdaq also saw its highest levels of the year so far, up 34 points to close at 5,022.82 – effectively wiping out all of its losses for 2016.
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Investors’ appetite for equities has increased after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report for June last Friday and low yields on government bonds.
The Toronto Stock Exchange continues climb as major US indexes were near or at all-time records.
ELSEWHERE IN ASIA: South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.1 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.7 percent.
The Dow is up 922.64 points, or 5.3 percent.
Aluminum maker Alcoa kicked off the second quarter earnings season on a positive note by reporting revenue and earnings that beat Wall Street expectations. The S&P 500 gained 16 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,153. Earnings for companies in the S&P 500 are expected to fall compared with the year-ago period, but then rise in the next quarter.
The broad-based S&P 500 set an all-time record high for the second consecutive day, rising 0.7 percent and closing at 2,152.14.
The S&P 500 is up 108.20 points, or 5.3 percent.
“The better nonfarm payrolls, the better earnings glimpse that we got today with Alcoa, that says stocks are worth more, and at lower interest rates, investors are willing to pay a higher multiple”. The stock jumped 55 cents, or 5.4%, to 10.69 dollars.
Markets in the USA and Europe also were encouraged on Monday by news that U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May will become the new British prime minister (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/andrea-leadsom-drops-bid-to-become-uks-next-prime-minister-2016-07-11-7103452), avoiding months of uncertainty over who would take over after David Cameron. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 percent. The gains Tuesday were led by energy companies, materials companies and banks. On the Nasdaq, 1,887 issues rose and 536 fell.
Brent crude settled up $2.22, or 4.80 percent, at $48.47 a barrel. The Nasdaq rose 0.7% to 5022.82, bringing its year-to-date gains to 0.3% and closing in positive territory for 2016 for the first time this year.
In commodity markets, United States crude oil prices surged 4.6% to $US46.80 a barrel after Opec said production from non-Opec countries would fall more than previously expected.
Nintendo: Shares in Nintendo Co., Ltd soared nearly 13 percent higher as the Pokemon Go app continues to be a wild success. And the federal Energy Information Administration reiterated in its short-term energy outlook that USA crude oil production, which averaged 9.4 million barrels per day in 2015, would continue to slide to an average of 8.6 million barrels a day in 2016 and 8.2 million barrels a day in 2017. And despite frothy stock valuations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/with-greater-highs-for-stocks-come-greater-risks-2016-07-11), “stocks actually look cheap relative to bonds”, he said, as bond yields have tumbled to record lows and bond prices have spiked. Just last week the yield on the 10-year Treasury note touched an all-time low.
The S&P 500’s financial index rose 1.2% amid gains at banks and capital markets firms. The yield plunged last week as low as 1.32 percent, an all-time low, according to Tradeweb.
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CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 104.20 yen from 104.84 yen.
