By Donna Kardos Yesalavich
U.S. stocks moved higher Wednesday morning, following Tuesday's
late selloff, as easing concerns about overseas economies helped
lift the financial and energy sectors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 46 points, or 0.5%, to
10074. J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) led the measure's gains with a jump
of 1.6%, while Alcoa (AA) was also strong, up 1.3%.
AT&T (T) rose 0.9%. The company is lowering prices on some
of its wireless calling plans for the second time in six months and
moving to a model of charging users based on the amount of Internet
surfing they do and email traffic they generate on devices like the
iPhone.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.5%.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.6%, with all its
sectors in the black, led by the financial, energy and materials
sectors.
The U.S. Dollar Index, reflecting the U.S. currency against a
basket of six others, climbed 0.5% recently.
However, other safe-haven assets -- Treasurys and gold -- were
lower.
The yield on the 10-year note edged up to 3.27%.
Crude-oil futures rose to nearly $73 a barrel.
Overseas, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he will
quit less than nine months after taking office, a downfall that
could fray ties with the U.S. and frustrate other allies seeking
greater cooperation and leadership from Tokyo.
The Nikkei 225 closed 1.1% lower in Tokyo, and the dollar rose
against the Japanese yen, following the sudden resignation.
The dollar also strengthened against the euro, which fell to
1.2197. Euro-zone banks placed a record 316.4 billion euros ($387.1
billion) in the European Central Bank's ultra-safe overnight
deposit facility, ECB data showed Wednesday. The move from
euro-zone banks to continue parking piles of cash at the ECB comes
amid concerns about the potential size of write-downs facing the
region's banking system.
Also in the euro zone, the Greek government Wednesday announced
long-delayed plans to privatize state-owned companies as part of
its attempt to fix the country's public finances and chip away at
the massive public debt.
In the U.S., the first of a series of employment reports was
released Wednesday, with outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray
& Christmas saying major U.S. corporations cut 38,810 jobs in
May, a 1.3% increase from the 38,326 in job cuts last month.
Private-sector employment is due Thursday and the government's
nonfarm payrolls report is set to be issued Friday.
Among companies in focus, American depositary shares of BP (BP)
edged up 1.2%, erasing part of its Tuesday tumble. However, the
cost of insuring debt issued by BP kept climbing to another record
high, after the U.S. Justice Department opened a criminal
investigation into the catastrophic oil spill, and amid continued
uncertainty about how the spill in the Gulf of Mexico will be
plugged.
Other energy stocks bounced back from Tuesday's sharp declines:
Halliburton (HAL) jumped 6.1%, Smith International (SII) rose 5.7%
and Schlumberger (SLB) rose 5.4%.
Amgen (AMGN) jumped 6% after the drug maker received U.S. Food
and Drug Administration approval for Prolia to treat osteoporosis
in postmenopausal women. The approval comes almost two months
earlier than expected.
Collective Brands (PSS)fell 7.2%. The footwear retailer's fiscal
first-quarter profit rose 43% on higher margins and international
sales growth, but same-store sales declined slightly. The company's
revenue also came in below Wall Street's expectations.
Still to come Wednesday, data on pending home sales will be
released at 10 a.m. Eastern time.