NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks surged on Friday to end a turbulent week after the Federal Reserve cut the discount rate it charges banks in an emergency move to stabilize credit markets and keep the economy on track.
World stock markets have fallen sharply, with investors fleeing riskier assets as problems in U.S. subprime mortgage lending spread rapidly in other credit markets .
Friday’s rally gave the S&P its best day in almost four-and-a-half years. Shares of banks and brokerages, beaten down in the recent turmoil, led the rally and the S&P financial index climbed 3.6 percent. JPMorgan Chase shares rose 3.4 percent and Citigroup gained 2.7 percent, pulling the sector higher.
Energy shares, led by a 4.3 percent rise in Exxon, helped fuel the rally as the Fed’s surprising discount rate cut relieved some concerns about a possible economic slowdown that would crimp the demand for oil. The threat of Hurricane Dean, which is heading toward oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, also pushed up the price of oil.
“Stocks are up decently, indicating some of the worst fears of a liquidity crisis are being alleviated,” said John Praveen, chief investment strategist at Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC in Newark, New Jersey.
“But I don’t think this is the end. We’ll likely see some more bouts of fear and volatility in the coming weeks.”
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 233.30 points, or 1.82 percent, to 13,079.08 -- snapping a six-day streak of losses. It was the first time the Dow had been down for six days in a row since October 2006.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index shot up 34.67 points, or 2.46 percent, to 1,445.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index soared 53.96 points, or 2.20 percent, to 2,505.03.
The Nasdaq had its best day in a year, led higher by gains in Apple and Research in Motion.
A sign over the floor of the at the New York Stock Exchange August 16, 2007. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
But it was still down 1.6 percent for the week. The S&P 500 slipped 0.5 percent for the week, while the Dow’s weekly loss was 1.2 percent.
For the year, the Dow is still up 4.9 percent, while the S&P is up nearly 2 percent and the Nasdaq is up 3.7 percent. This marks a turnaround for the S&P, which had given up its gains for the year during Wednesday’s steep slide.
FED SLASHES THE DISCOUNT RATE
Before the U.S. stock market opened, the Fed announced it cut the discount rate by half a percentage point to 5.75 percent, explaining risks to economic growth have increased “appreciably.”
The Fed’s action was designed to give banks confidence that they will continue to have access to capital and help counteract lenders’ growing reluctance to make loans.
But it was not the cut in the federal funds rate -- the rate at which banks borrow from each other-- that many on Wall Street had been hoping for. The central bank’s main tool for managing monetary policy was left unchanged at 5.25 percent.
STOCKS PULL BACK FROM HIGHS
By mid-morning, the major stock indexes were off their session highs in heavier-than-normal trading volume. The initial surge was driven partly by investors reversing bets the market would fall -- a move known as short-covering.
As stocks soared, hedge funds jumped at the chance to sell some of the stocks they had been trying to unload, causing the rally to lose steam, analysts said.
Stocks also pared gains after data from the Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Surveys showed an index of U.S. consumer sentiment slid to its weakest level in a year in August as more expensive oil, declining home prices and turmoil in financial markets all hurt confidence.
Shares of battered mortgage market companies were initially the session’s top advancers, but they soon cut their gains in half.
Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest U.S. mortgage lender, rose 13.1 percent to $21.43, after hitting a high of $23.90 early in the session.
Investment bank Bear Stearns Cos., the biggest mortgage bond underwriter, gained 1.5 percent to $118.20, also off its high of $125.47.
Exxon Mobil rose $3.47, or 4.3 percent, to $84.14 and gave the biggest boost to both the Dow and the S&P.
The day marked the monthly expiration of August options, which creates volatility as traders make last-minute adjustments to their derivative positions against stock and index products.
Trading was heavy on the NYSE, with about 2.48 billion shares changing hands, above last year’s estimated daily average of 1.84 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.58 billion shares traded, also surging ahead of last year’s daily average of 2.02 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of about 7 to 1 on the NYSE and by slightly more than 2 to 1 on the Nasdaq.
+17 de agosto de 2007, 02:04 UTC 



 
* DJIA


 13079.08

  233.30 (1.82%)



 
* Nasdaq


 2505.03

  53.96 (2.20%)




* S&P 500


1,445.94

  34.67 (2.46%)




* FTSE 100


 6064.20

  205.30 (4.10%)




* DAX


7378.29 

 108.22 (1.49%)




* CAC 40


5265.47

  98.16 (1.86%)




* S&P TSX


13,049.58

  200.88 (1.56%)




* IPC


28,510.660

  717.500 (2.58%)






* MERV


1,929.120

  95.410 (5.20%)



 
* Bovespa


48,558.76

  543.21 (1.13%)




* All Ordinaries


5670.30

  41.90 (0.73%)




* Nikkei


15273.68

  874.81 (5.42%)





Luego de días de consternación por la caída de los índices bursátiles en Wall Street y en las mayores bolsas del mundo, las acciones vuelven a los positivos.

El cambio se debió luego de que el Sistema de Reserva Federal (Fed) recortara los tasa primara de descuento a los bancos en un movimiento de emergencia para estabilizar la bolsa.

El Dow Jones recibió ganancias de 233.30 puntos, mientras que el FTSE 100 del Reino Unido registró una subida del 4.10% (205.30 puntos) así recuperando gran cantidad de los perdido ayer 250.40 puntos (4.10%).

Además, el DAX de Frankfurt y el CAC 40 de París también ascendieron luego de la jornada, ganando 108.22 (1.49%) y 98.16 (1.86%) puntos respectivamente; al mismo tiempo, Canadá registró subidas del 200.88 (1.56%) en el S&P TSX.

Esto alivió las condiciones, y el Banco Central Estadounidense declaró que estaría "preparado para actuar como fuera necesario para mitigar los efectos adversos sobre la economía que surjan de las turbulencias en los mercados financieros".

=== Latinoamérica en el impulso ===

Las mayores bolsas de Latinoamérica siguieron el impulso europeo y norteamericano.

El Bovespa de Brasil registró subidas de una 543.21 (1.13%). "Aunque la Fed haya intentado calmar a los mercados, la gente todavía está muy cautelosa, porque la situación general aún no está resuelta", declararon en la bolsa de San Pablo. "Todavía existe el riesgo de que aparezcan otros fondos con problemas. Eso baja un poco el ánimo".

En Argentina, el Merval aumentó en 95.410 puntos (5.20%). "La reacción del Merval viene de la mano del clima internacional ante el 'shock' que generó en los mercados la rebaja en la tasas de la Fed", dijo Jorge Alberti, un especialista.

En Chile, el IPSA registró subidas del 2,54 por ciento hasta los 3.036,48 puntos. En Bogotá, el IGBC ganó un 2,72 por ciento, a 10.230,87 puntos, y así recobrando lo perdido en la jornada de ayer. En Lima, la situación fue de marcada mejora luego de que el IGBVL marcara subidas de un 5,65 por ciento, a 20.655,76 puntos.

=== El Pacífico no tanto ===

A pesar de las subidas a nivel casi mundial, las bolsas asiáticas registraron graves pérdidas.

El Nikkei de Tokio registró pérdidas de 874.81 (5.42%), la peor pérdida desde el 2000. El Banco de Japón ha inyectado cerca de 1,2 trillones de yen ($10,7 mil millones).

Además, en Australia, el All Ordinaries de Sídney cayó en 41.90 puntos (0.73%), causando la mayor caída del dólar australiano frente al estadounidense desde que se le autorizó comerciar libremente en 1983.