Stocks on Wall Street rebounded as gains in the financial and healthcare sectors outpaced declining energy shares.Kraft Foods advanced 2.8% after saying its profit topped forecasts, lifting the value of its cash and shares bid for the UK's Cadbury.Kraft r
Stocks on Wall Street rebounded as gains in the financial and healthcare sectors outpaced declining energy shares.
Kraft Foods advanced 2.8% after saying its profit topped forecasts, lifting the value of its cash and shares bid for the UK’s Cadbury.
Kraft released its earnings after Cadbury posted a jump in 2009 profit and sales while urging shareholders to reject what it called a “wholly inadequate” offer.
Kraft chairman and chief executive officer Irene Rosenfeld said, “…we’re well positioned to deliver sustainable top-tier performance, with or without Cadbury.”
Merck was the top performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rising 4% after Credit Suisse raised its investment rating. Chevron dropped 1.1% as crude oil futures fell below $US80 a barrel.
At the market close, the Dow was up 53.66 points, or 0.5%, at 10,680.92. The S&P 500 index was up 0.6% to 1145.69, with Morgan Stanley climbing 2.5% and AIG up 2.3%.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.1% to 2308, with Intel rising 1.9% as Google fell 1.6% after saying it was considering pulling out of China after a series of cyber attacks on its email customers.
Canadian stocks fell for a third day, led by commodity producers, as oil and gold futures declined.
Suncor Energy dropped 1.6%. Magna International lost 3.9% after saying 2010 revenue may trail analyst forecasts.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index has slipped 44 points, or 0.4%, to 11,775.46.
European stocks were mainly flat after dropping on Tuesday as China tightened its monetary policy.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was 0.2% higher at 256.89 London's FTSE 100 index was down 0.2% to 5489, Frankfurt's DAX index was almost flat at 5946, as was the CAC-40 index in Paris at 3998.
Commodities: Oil, gold down
Crude futures dropped sharply after US oil and fuel inventory data reversed the recent trend of tightening supplies that had helped send oil prices to a 15-month high last week.
Total oil and fuel inventories had fallen for five consecutive weeks, raising hopes that the glut built up in the first half of 2009 was easing.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery traded $US1.58, or 2%, lower at $US79.21 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded $US1.80 lower at $US77.50 a barrel.
Gold futures hit their lowest level in a week, largely in response to a tumble in crude-oil futures.
The lightly traded but close January gold was down $US7.90 to $US1121 an ounce in New York. The most-active February contract was off $US5.10 to $US1124.30 and hit a low of $US1118.50, its weakest since January 6.
Currencies: Pound, euro up
The UK pound led the charge against the retreating US dollar as investors shifted back toward more risk-sensitive currencies.
The pound reached a session peak of $US1.6294, its highest level since December 17, after a Bank of England said it may have to pause bond purchases and assess their impact on the economy.
The pound spurred a move higher by the euro, enabling it to break above key resistance and set a new high for 2010. Earlier, it reached a high at $US1.4580, its highest level since December 16.
The pound was at $US1.6278 from $US1.6156 on Tuesday. The euro was at $US1.4485 from $US1.4489. The dollar was at ¥91.44 from ¥90.95, while the euro was at ¥132.44 from ¥131.73.
Canada’s dollar rose for the first time in three days against its US equivalent.
The Canadian currency appreciated 0.5% to $C1.0341 from $C1.0388. One Canadian dollar buys 96.70USc.
