Indexes Near Session Highs At Midday
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The stock market was near session highs in midday trading, though volume remained light.
At 1 p.m. ET, the NYSE composite led with a 1% jump. The Nasdaq and small-cap S&P 600 showed 0.8% gains. The S&P 500 and Dow were up 0.7%.
Volume was running sharply lower, continuing a recent trend in which some indexes advance on lackluster trading. Nasdaq volume was about one-fourth slower than at this time Thursday, and NYSE trading was 15% lighter.
But breadth was strong, as advancing stocks led by nearly a 3-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by almost 2-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
Metals and other basic materials stocks rallied, including Kaiser Aluminum () and Barnes Group (), both of which were near record highs in active trading.
In chemicals, Terra Nitrogen () gained 4.04 to 93.59 in what was shaping up to be its seventh-straight advance in above-average volume. Imperial Chemical Industries () rose 0.56 to 43.92 as it traded near nine-year highs.
Lan Airlines () rose 2.57 to 82.40, reaching a record high. The stock cleared a 10-week pattern on May 3, though on unimpressive volume. On Wednesday, the Chile-based carrier said it signed a code-sharing agreement with Brazil’s TAM (), giving passengers of both airlines access to the carriers’ routes. It also gave Lan access to the big Brazil market.
On the downside, retailers remained in focus. Dick’s Sporting Goods () fell 1.91 to 51.91, dipping to a two-month low and sinking farther below the 50-day line.
J.C. Penney () crossed below its 200-day line for the first time since October 2005, losing 1.15 to 75.65. The department store chain, which had been a big-cap leader until recently, on Thursday reported a 4.7% drop in April same-store sales, below expectations.
11 a.m. ET update: Stocks Trek North, But on Lower Volume
BY ALAN R. ELLIOTT
Stocks jumped Friday morning on data showing wholesale prices, other than gasoline, eased in April.
The Nasdaq rose 0.6%. The NYSE composite was up 1%. The Dow and the S&P 500 were both up 0.7%.
But NYSE volume was tracking 12% lower than Thursday’s level. Nasdaq volume was down 31%.
The Labor Department’s Producer Price Index showed wholesale prices rose 0.7% in April after a 1% increase in March. That was in line with estimates. Gasoline was the main driver of the increase, with prices rising 8.2%. That followed increases in the prior two months of 8.7% and 5.3%. Prices other than gasoline held relatively flata better than expected sign that inflation remains in check.
The Shanghai composite slipped 0.7%, the Nikkei 225 was off 0.6%. London’s FTSE 100 notched a 0.4% gain.
A Commerce Department report showed April retail sales fell 0.2%. That diverged from industry same-store-sales data released Thursday. That report said retail sales at stores open at least a year were down 1.8%, and a full 80% of retailers missed their views.
China Petroleum & Chemical (), aka Sinopec, got an early start, gapping up and gaining 5.97, or 6%, to 98.47. The stock jumped on reports that China’s government may begin to ease its market price restrictions on refined products. Sinopec is the country’s largest refiner. The move boosted the stock above a 94.88 buy point in an 18-week cup-with-handle base.
China Life Insurance () leapt 3.27 to 50.07. That put it just above a 49.80 buy point on an 18-week cup-with-handle base. The company saw earnings growth accelerate from 82% to 186% in the second half of 2006. Sales growth gained from 52% to 58%. Note that China Life’s base lacks accumulation.
Foster Wheeler () notched up 2.86 to 90.75 on heavy volume. That put the stock up 34% on an eight-day winning streak. A maker of refineries and liquids processing facilities, it was upgraded to buy by a D.A. Davidson analyst on Thursday.
On the downside, Kinetic Concepts () gapped down 2.51 to 46.18. The maker of hospital beds and products related to long-term patient treatment tanked on news Friday that Smith & Nephew plans to pay $15 million to acquire BlueSky Medical Group Inc., a privately held Kinetic Concepts competitor. Kinetic’s shares had been riding just below their 10-week line, after a failed breakout from a flat base in April.