Stronger US data lift shares, dollar

NEW YORK - US stocks and the dollar rallied on Tuesday after data showed US manufacturing grew in April at the strongest pace in 10 months, soothing recent worries about the economy.

Safe-haven Treasuries prices fell, while gold retreated from two-week highs as the data dampened speculation the Federal Reserve would adopt fresh monetary easing measures to boost growth.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes soared 1 percent after the Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity rose to 54.8 from 53.4 in March, exceeding expectations of 53.0.

“The American economy is not as weak as some may perceive, and although it has stagnated a bit here, the American economy is doing very well,” said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.

“The fly in the soup is Europe. You have to keep an eye on these bond markets, and as long as Spain and Italy stay below six percent in terms of bond yields, that is a green light to buy stocks.”

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 116.02 points, or 0.88 percent, at 13,329.65. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 16.37 points, or 1.17 percent, at 1,414.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 36.61 points, or 1.20 percent, at 3,082.97.

The MSCI world equity index gained 0.5 percent to 330.35. Trading was limited with many markets in Asia and Europe closed for the May Day holiday.

World stocks posted a loss of about 1.5 percent last month as worries about global growth resurfaced after data showed the US economy cooled in the first quarter and the euro zone recession was deepening.

The weakness has also spread to other countries as the British manufacturing sector barely grew in April, hit by the economic slowdown in the euro zone, while Canada said its economy unexpectedly shrank in February.

Adding to bullish sentiment were signs of recovery in Chinese manufacturing. China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a 13-month high in April, suggesting the world’s second-largest economy has found a footing and may be recovering from a first-quarter trough.

Aussie tumbles

The Australian dollar fell nearly 1 percent against its US counterpart after the Reserve Bank of Australia slashed rates by a deeper-than-expected 50 basis points. Domestic government bond yields hit 60-year lows.

The dollar rose 0.5 percent to 80.18 yen, rebounding from a low of 79.62, its weakest point since February. The stronger yen hit Japan’s export-related equities, sending the Nikkei index down 1.8 percent to a 2-1/2-month closing low.

The euro slipped 0.1 percent to $1.3225, off an earlier one-month high of $1.3283.

Light volumes were expected before Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting, Friday’s US non-farm payrolls report and weekend elections in Greece and France.

Brent crude rose 32 cents to $119.79 a barrel while US crude rallied $1.10 to $105.97.

Gold inched up to a two-week high and last traded around $1,664 an ounce.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was down 9/32, with the yield at 1.9488 percent. Benchmark yields, however, are still hovering at their lowest levels in nearly three months.