US mkts end strong led by financials; Dow up 246 points

The US markets closed the week on a cheerful note capping their fifth straight up week led by a record gain in banking shares.

All three major indices logged their best single session percentage gain in two weeks and closed at session highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shut shop at 8,083.38, up 246.27 points or 3.14%. The Nasdaq Composite went up 61.88 points or 3.89%, to settle at 1,652.54. The S&P 500 closed 31.40 points or 3.81% higher at 856.56.

Sarah Ketterer, Causeway Capital Management said, "There is plenty of upside remaining and we are seeing record upside potential for the vast majority of stocks in both the US and global investible universe."

Stocks rallied on an upbeat earnings forecast by Wells Fargo which surged almost 32% in yesterday's trade. The bank said it now expects earnings of 55 cents a share including items, which is far higher than previous estimates of 26 cents a share.

Meanwhile, the earnings outlook for Morgan Stanley came under question by a report from the Wall Street Journal. The investment bank is expected to suffer a writedown of between USD 1.2 billion and USD 1.7 billion on the value of its bonds. However, Morgan shares jumped 12%.

Wal-Mart stood out as a laggard in yesterday's trade as its comparable-store sales in March rose less than analysts’ estimates. The stock ended

Markets will be closed for the Good Friday holiday.

Economic data

In the economic news, initial jobless claims decreased more than economists estimated last week and the trade deficit unexpectedly shrank 28%, to USD 25.97 billion in February, the smallest deficit since 1999. And import prices rose 0.5% in March, the first increase in eight months. Export prices fell 0.6%.

Initial jobless claims fell by 20,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted of 654,000.

The dollar gained versus 15 of the 16 most-traded currencies after a government report showed the US trade deficit narrowed in February to the lowest level in nine years. The dollar rose against the euro, heading for the biggest weekly gain in three months, on speculation that investors are shifting funds to US securities. The greenback has risen 2.8% against the European currency this week, the most since the period ended January 9.

Commodities

Crude oil rose more than USD 2 a barrel as equities gained, signalling that some investors expect economies to stabilize, and bolstering energy demand. Prices were also higher after a government report showed a smaller increase in US supplies than the industry indicated a day earlier. It closed at USD 52.19/bbl, up USD 2.86.

Copper futures for May delivery gained 7.25 cents, or 3.6%.