Reuters: US Dollar Report: GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares rise on Apple, Fed causes no ripples

Reuters: US Dollar Report Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares rise on Apple, Fed causes no ripples Apr 25th 2012, 17:16 Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:16pm EDT * Global stocks surge, spurred by Apple's strong results * Euro hits 3-week high as debt fears ease, then pares gains * Markets unchanged after Fed statement; rates to stay low By Herbert Lash NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - Global shares jumped on W ednesday after better-than-expected earnings from Apple Inc bolstered optimism over corporate earnings and a policy statement from the Federal Reserve that indicated it would keep interest rates low until late 2014. Markets barely reacted to the Fed's statement, with bond yields briefly turning lower and the U.S. dollar firming against the yen and euro. Fed policymakers gave no hints of further stimulus to the U.S. economy. "Doesn't seem like anything new or surprising. There's not too much that's noteworthy in it. Everything is status quo so far as I can tell," said Bob Gelfond, chief executive of MQS Asset Management in New York. U.S. equity markets were up the day after Apple reported quarterly profit almost doubled from a year earlier following Monday's market close. The Nasdaq climbed almost 2.0 percent and the broad S&P 500 index gained more than 1 percent. Shares of Apple rose 8.6 percent to $608.21 on a surge that increased its market capitalization by about $50 billion. Apple's forecast-beating results removed a weeks-old market overhang and lifted optimism in a corporate earnings season that is already far outstripping expectations. About 75 percent of the 200 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results so far have beat expectations, a rate that is above the norm. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 76.14 points, or 0.59 percent, at 13,077.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 16.61 points, or 1.21 percent, at 1,388.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 58.85 points, or 1.99 percent, at 3,020.45. Investors shrugged off a Commerce Department report that showed durable goods orders for March fell 4.2 percent, the biggest decline in three years and the latest of recent signs of softness in U.S. economic data. "This adds to the evidence that momentum in the economy sort of fell flat in March," said Ellen Zentner, senior U.S. economist at Nomura Securities in New York. However, non-defense capital goods shipments excluding aircraft, used to calculate gross domestic product, were much stronger than expected in March, she said. The 2.6 percent increase is "likely to lift estimates, believe it or not, for first-quarter GDP," Zentner said. "But... this report implies a fairly weak outlook for business investment." MSCI's world equity index rose 0.9 percent to 326.08. European shares rose for a second day, buoyed by a crop of strong earnings reports. The FTSE Eurofirst index of top European shares closed up 1 percent at 1,042.55. The euro pared its early gains and was little changed at $1.3193. The U.S. dollar traded near break-even against a basket of major trading-partner currencies, with the dollar index barely off at 79.212. U.S. Treasury debt prices fell as investors reduced their bond exposure ahead of a $35 billion auction of new five-year supply and to hedge against any surprises from the Fed. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 8/32 in price to yield 2.00 percent. Brent rose 35 cents to $118.51 a barrel. U.S. light sweet crude oil rose 13 cents to $103.68 per barrel. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions