Boeing gets tailwind from major defence contract

Dow Jones: 12,130.45 (+61.95) S&P 500: 1,319.88 (+13.78) Nasdaq: 2,781.05 (+43.15)US STOCKS rose yesterday, preventing the biggest weekly drop in the Standard and Poor's 500 Index since August, as confidence among American consumers increased more than forecast in February to the highest level in three years.

“We’re in a sustainable recovery,” said Thomas Nyheim, a Greenville, Delaware-based money manager for Christiana Trust, which oversees $7 billion.

“Consumer confidence beat estimates. Corporate earnings have been pretty good. We’re not looking for any pullback in economic growth. That should hold stocks up,” he said.

The S&P 500 fell during the last three days amid growing tensions in the Middle East.

The index has climbed 5 per cent in 2011, extending last year’s 13 per cent rally, as government stimulus measures and improving profits bolstered investor confidence.

Stocks extended gains as the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment for February climbed to 77.5 from 74.2 the prior month, a report yesterday showed.

The Commerce Department said yesterday that the US economy grew at a 2.8 per cent annual rate in the fourth quarter, slower than previously calculated and less than forecast as state and local governments made deeper cuts in spending.

Boeing rose 2.2 per cent to $72.31. The sole supplier of aerial refueling tankers to the US Air Force since 1948 won a $35 billion program to build 179 new tankers, the Pentagon said yesterday.

Intel added 2.7 per cent to $21.86. The world’s largest chipmaker was rated “buy” in new coverage by Longbow Research’s analyst Joanne Feeney, who said corporate demand and new products will help propel Intel’s sales and earnings growth into next year.

Salesforce.com rallied 3.4 per cent to $138.83. Revenue will be $480 million to $482 million in the fiscal first quarter, which ends in April, San Francisco-based Salesforce said.

American International Group slumped 4.7 per cent to $38.53. The bailed-out insurer said it faces increased risk of losses on its $46.6 billion municipal bond portfolio and that defaults could pressure the company’s liquidity. – (Bloomberg)