Stock Market Holidays 2010

U.S. stock-index futures advanced after employers added the most jobs in three years, boosting optimism that the economic recovery is accelerating. Yields on 10-year Treasuries climbed.

Payrolls rose by 162,000 last month, less than anticipated, after a revised 14,000 decrease in February that was smaller than initially estimated, figures from the Labor Department in Washington showed today. The increase included 48,000 temporary workers hired by the government to help conduct the 2010 census. Average hourly earnings fell and hours worked rose.

Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in June rose 0.2 percent to 1,176.20 at 8:54 a.m. in New York. U.S. stock exchanges are closed today for the Good Friday holiday, and futures trading will end at 9:15 a.m. The yield on the 10-year Treasury increased 0.05 percentage point to 3.92 percent.

“It’s a step forward, but it’s a modest step forward in terms of jobs,” said Michael Holland, who oversees more than $4 billion as chairman of Holland & Co. in New York. “That’s a good thing because it’s mean we’re creating some jobs, but it means it’s not a surprise to the upside. There’s nothing bad about it either.”

U.S. stocks completed a fifth straight weekly gain yesterday, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average to their highest closes in 18 months, amid fresh signs the economy is recovering.

$84 a Barrel

Energy companies led the advance as crude oil exceeded $84 a barrel for the first time since October 2008. Commodity producers rallied as a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar lifted prices for gold, copper and aluminum. 3M Co., the maker of 55,000 products from Post-It Notes to respiratory masks, gained after Morgan Stanley said an improved profit forecast from Danaher Corp. was a positive sign.

The S&P 500 rose 1 percent to 1,178.10 this week, finishing its longest streak of weekly gains in almost a year. The Dow increased 76.71 points, or 0.7 percent, to 10,927.07.

“To stay at these levels or move higher you’re going to need to see continuing evidence the economy is gaining momentum and continuing to improve,” said Robert Schaeffer, a money manager at Becker Capital Management Inc. in Portland, Oregon.

The S&P 500 rallied 4.9 percent during the first quarter, the biggest advance to start a year since 1998, after U.S. gross domestic product expanded at the fastest pace in six years. Shares in Japan, Sweden, Russia and Switzerland did best during the period among the 20 largest stock markets, with benchmarks rising at least 5 percent. Spain, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong did worst, falling 2.9 percent or more.

74% Surge

This week’s advance extended the S&P 500’s rebound from a 12-year low in March 2009 to 74 percent. Birinyi Associates Inc., which recommended buying stocks a year ago, raised its year-end forecast for the benchmark to 1,325 because of rallies by General Electric Co., Citigroup Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

GE, the world’s biggest maker of jet engines, power-plant turbines and locomotives, and Microsoft, the world’s biggest software company, are among the 10 largest U.S. companies by market value. Citigroup, the bank 27 percent owned by the U.S. government, is the most active stock on the New York Stock Exchange this year by number of shares traded. Birinyi’s 2010 S&P 500 projection compares with the 1,243 average estimate of 13 strategists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Expectations for a 30 percent increase in S&P 500 profits in the first quarter, according to Bloomberg data, were boosted by bigger-than-forecast increases in gauges of manufacturing activity and consumer confidence. S&P 500 profits increased in the fourth quarter after a record nine-quarter slump.

Earnings Season

Alcoa Inc., traditionally the first Dow company to release results each quarter, is scheduled to report on April 12.

Energy companies in the S&P 500 rose 3.8 percent as a group, the most among the index’s 10 industries. Eight of the 10 biggest advances in the index were by fuel producers. Pioneer Natural Resources Co. rose 12 percent to $59.15. Denbury Resources Inc. gained 11 percent to $17.34. Rowan Cos. climbed 11 percent to $29.93.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., Newmont Mining Corp. and Alcoa Inc. led gains among commodity producers. The Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against the euro, yen, pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc, fell 1.1 percent. That pushed copper to a 20-month high and aluminum to the highest since January. Gold futures rose as high as $1,129.10, the highest since March 18.

3M advanced 3.5 percent to $83.85. Scott Davis of Morgan Stanley predicted on March 30 that the shares would rise during the next month. Danaher, the maker of dental X-ray machines and Craftsman tools, raised its first-quarter profit forecast to at least 90 cents a share from no more than 82 cents.Read More…..