Midnight Trader | Jun 25, 2013 03:59PM ET
U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday, climbing off a nine-week low for the S&P 500 after bullish economic data and signs China's banking system is stabilizing buoyed investor moods. The major indices all finished near their best levels of the day, erasing almost all of Monday's declines. Financial stocks paced the advance, with shares of industrial and utility companies also posting strong gains. Consumer staples and healthcare stocks were the relative laggards, with both sectors each rising less than 0.4% as a group.
Stocks got an early push overnight when the People's Bank of China moved to reassure investor worried about a looming credit crunch, declaring it already has been selectively supporting bank liquidity. In a statement posted on its website after the Chinese markets closed, the PBOC said it has provided "liquidity support to some financial institutions that meet the demands of macro prudence," later saying "some banks with ample liquidity have also begun to play a stabilizing role in circulating capital into markets."
A slew of positive data at home also contributed to gains. Durable goods orders rose 3.6% during May, matching the 3.6% gain in April for goods intended to last more than three years, the Commerce Department said. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft increased 1.1%, topping expert opinion looking for just a 0.3% rise last month.
Upbeat Housing
The S&P/Case Schiller home price composite index of 20 metropolitan areas continued its run of big gains in recent months, rising 12.1% during April from a year ago, the largest annual rise since March 2006. Homebuilder Lennar (LEN) also posted better-than-expected Q2 per-share earnings and revenue, underpinning rising share prices for most residential construction firms.
Consumer confidence climbed to its best levels of the recovery, reaching 81.4 in the final reading for June in the S&P/University of Michigan survey of consumer attitudes, up from a 76.2 reading in May. Analysts had been looking for a 75 final score this month.
Commodities were mixed. Crude oil for August delivery rose 18 cents to settle at $95.33 per barrel while July natural gas fell 9 cents to $3.67 per 1 mln BTU. August gold fell $1.70 to $1,275.20 per ounce while July silver added 2 cents to settle at $19.52 per ounce. July copper rose 5 cents to $3.07 per pound.
Here's Where The U.S. Markets Stood At Day's End
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