Stocks saw solid gains to close out the week on Friday, with late-session buying coming ahead of second quarter earnings season which kicks off after the closing bell on Monday. Bargain hunting also played a role in generating buying interest, helping to drive the major averages higher for a fourth straight session.
The Dow gained 58.73 points or 0.6 percent and closed at 10,197.72, the Nasdaq moved up by 21.05 points or 1 percent to end at 2,196.45 and the S&P 500 rose by 7.68 points or 0.7 percent to 1,077.93.
After series of rallies based on bargain buying, the major averages saw notable gains on the week. The Dow and S&P 500 gained 5.3 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced by 5 percent.
The lack of first-tier economic data prompted a slow moving session for the most part, with wholesale trade figures largely shrugged off by traders. This morning, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that sales at wholesalers fell 0.3 percent for May following revised 0.9 percent increase in April. Economists had expected the measure to climb by 0.5 percent. This was the first drop in sales in 14 months.
Meanwhile, wholesale inventories rose 0.5 percent for May, accelerating from the downwardly revised 0.2 percent advance seen in the previous month. Economists had expected an increase of 0.4 percent.
In corporate news, Google (GOOG) gained 2.4 percent today after successfully renewing its license to operate in China, while rival Chinese search provider Baidu.com (BIDU) slid by 1.7 percent on the news. The license renewal ended a long standoff between Beijing and Google and avoids a possible shutdown of the company's service in China, the world's largest Internet market.
BP PLC (BP) is likely to remain on traders' radars even over the weekend, as the firm is expected to replace a cap on its leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico with a more efficient one in the next few days. Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is attempting to seal the leak by the end of July, weeks earlier than publicly discussed deadlines.
Sector News
Banking and steel stocks turned in some of the day's strongest performances, driving the KBW Bank Index and the NYSE Arca Steel Index both up by 2.4 percent.
The banking index continued its recovery from last Friday's four and a half month closing low, ending at its best level in two weeks, while the steel index moved further off of last week's seven-week closing low and set a more than one-week high.
Housing, gold, railroad and airline stocks also rose by notable margins, while moderate weakness remained among telecommunication stocks, driving down the NYSE Arca Telecommunications Index down by 0.4 percent.
Dow Components
Caterpillar (CAT) was the strongest percentage gainer in the Dow, rising by 2.5 percent ended at its best closing price in two and a half weeks.
Travelers (TRV), Alcoa (AA) and Chevron (CVX) expanded their earlier gains and also ended up by at least 2 percent, further boosting the Dow in late-session dealing.
Despite posting a more modest gain of 1.2 percent, drug-maker Merck (MRK) ended at its highest price in three months while most other Dow components continued their bounce back from recent lows.
Meanwhile, Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) saw steep loss, falling by 1.4 percent. The drop is took the stock off of a seven-week closing high set in the previous session.
Microsoft (MSFT), Hewlett Packard (HPQ) and Verizon (VZ) were also under pressure, limiting the advance in the blue chip index.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stocks across the Asia-Pacific region saw strong gains on Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.6 percent, while Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.5 percent.
The major European markets ended up by solid margins. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index all rose by 0.5 percent.
In the bond markets, treasuries were moderately lower on the day. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, closed at 3.056 percent, posting a gain of 3.6 basis points.
Looking Ahead
Next week, the markets are likely to react to the minutes from the latest FOMC meeting, retail sales figures, producer and consumer prices and data on consumer sentiment.
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