Stock Market Summary

4:30 pm

Another broad-based buying effort sent stocks through resistance to book their second straight gain ahead of the monthly nonfarm payrolls report.

Trade started on a flat note as market participants let the prior session's surge settle a bit. Major market averages in Asia advanced to catch up with Wall Street, but action was also lackluster in Europe, where it was announced that eurozone GDP increased 1.0% in the second quarter and that the European Central Bank (ECB) will keep its benchmark lending rate at 1.00%. ECB President Trichet stated that eurozone GDP for 2010 is now expected to grow in a range from 1.4% to 1.8%, up from the range 0.7% to 1.3%. For 2011, growth is now expected to range from 0.5% to 2.3%, up from 0.2% to 2.2%.

Early participants had little reason to alter their mood since the initial jobless claims count for the week ended August 28 came in at 472,000, which is in on par with the 475,000 initial claims that had been widely expected. The latest tally was also little changed from the prior week total of 478,000. Continuing claims saw a more substantial slip as they fell to 4.46 million from 4.48 million.

Final nonfarm productivity readings for the second quarter also offered little surprise. Productivity in the quarter fell 1.8%, which is in stride with the 1.7% decline that had been widely forecasted. Unit labor costs for the quarter increased 1.1%, as expected.

Pending home sales for July provided participants with a positive surprise. They posted a 5.2% monthly increase, which contrasts with the call for no change from economists polled by Qwoter.com. That data overshadowed news that factory orders for July increased 0.1% instead of 0.3% as had been widely expected.

Stocks were able to garner support, but the S&P 500 (SPX) struggled in the 1085 zone. That area provided resistance for most of the morning and afternoon, but buyers stepped up their efforts in the afternoon so that stocks settled at session highs.

The advance has the S&P 500 up nearly 4% in the first two days of September. That is almost enough to offset what was lost in August, but many market watchers want to see how stocks react to tomorrow's official nonfarm payrolls report before a call is made on whether market sentiment has improved, especially given the market's fickleness.

Trading volume was rather light this session. With fewer than 1 billion shares trading hands on the NYSE, it seems many investors are also cautious ahead of the payrolls report.

Of the trades that were made, volume was heaviest among large-cap tech and large-cap financials. Financials had lagged in the early going, but bounded in the afternoon so that the tech sector settled with a 1.0% gain. As for tech, it advanced 0.9% as semiconductor stocks spiked a collective 2.1%.

Retailers also had a strong session. As a group, they climbed 2.2%. Most of that move was owed to a large batch of better-than-expected same-store sales results for August.

Advancing Sectors: Consumer Discretionary (+1.8%), Industrials (+1.3%), Materials (+1.1%), Financials (+1.0%), Tech (+0.9%), Energy (+0.9%), Consumer Staples (+0.6%), Health Care (+0.6%), Telecom (+0.2%)
Declining Sectors: Utilities (-0.2%)DJ30 +50.63 NASDAQ +23.17 NQ100 +1.1% R2K +1.2% SP400 +1.3% SP500 +9.81 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1639/1.69 bln/952 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2102/960 mln/880

3:30 pm

Oct crude oil finished higher by 1.5% to $75.02 per barrel today, helped higher by news of a platform fire in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Crude rallied on concerns that another accident in the Gulf will give the government all the incentive to continue with the drilling moratorium until safety conditions can be stepped up. It finished just shy of its highs at $75.14. Oct natural gas closed flat on the day at $3.76 per MMBtuu.

Dec silver closed higher by 1.4% to $19.65 per ounce, while Dec gold gained 0.4% to end at $1252.80 per ounce. Silver traded to a fresh 3-month high today at $19.74.

DJ30 +25.05 NASDAQ +17.05 SP500 +6.80 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1474/1.3 bln/1125 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1910/657.9 mln/1052

3:00 pm

Steady support has kept stocks in positive territory all afternoon, though overall gains have been modest. With stocks on track for back-to-back gains it would appear that the mood of the often fickle market has improved from the cautious tone of recent weeks. Still, it is likely too early to say that overall sentiment has turned positive, given that tomorrow brings the government's official nonfarm payrolls report, which has the potential to be a pivotal catalyst for the stock market.

Trading volume has been a bit light ahead of the payrolls report. Only an hour remains before this session's close and hardly 600 million shares have traded hands on the NYSE.

DJ30 +16.65 NASDAQ +14.78 SP500 +5.91 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1423/1.23 bln/1152 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1893/595 mln/1071

2:30 pm

The S&P 500 recently pushed through resistance just above the 1085 zone, but it has failed to extend the move into anything more and has since eased back a bit.

Overall gains remain broad as advancing issues outnumber decliners by 4-to-1 in the S&P 500. Gains remain strongest among consumer discretionary plays (+1.5%), while defensive-oriented issues like telecom stocks (-0.2%) and utilities stocks (-0.4%) trail.

DJ30 +17.75 NASDAQ +15.10 SP500 +6.02 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1416/1.15 bln/1154 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1897/562 mln/1071

2:00 pm

Semiconductor stocks have sprinted out to a 1.7% gain, which puts it well ahead of the broader market. The group is currently led Broadcom (BRCM 32.66, +1.58), which is extending its bounce off of the six-month low that it set late last week. Strength among semiconductor stocks has bolstered the broader tech sector, which is up 0.6%, and helped the Nasdaq outperform its counterparts.

DJ30 +10.03 NASDAQ +12.15 SP500 +4.65 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1390/1.06 bln/1166 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1863/518 mln/1083

1:30 pm

Stocks have been backed down a bit, but the broader market remains in positive territory.

Financials, which were leaders in the prior session, are quiet today. The sector is currently flat as bank stocks like Bank of America (BAC 13.22, +0.01) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM 37.75, +0.01) surrender recent gains to trade along the neutral line. Meanwhile, shares of investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS 138.68, -1.06) have been dropped to session lows.

DJ30 -1.02 NASDAQ +9.55 SP500 +3.17 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1304/961 mln/1235 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1711/480 mln/1222

1:00 pm

The broader market is up with a solid gain following a flat start to the session. The advance has been helped by surprisingly strong pending home sales.

Market participants shrugged off the latest initial jobless claims count. At 475,000, initial claims were in line with what had been widely expected and little changed from the prior week. Continuing claims came down to 4.46 million from 4.48 million.

Little was made of finalized nonfarm productivity for the second quarter. It fell 1.8%, which is essentially on par with what had been forecasted. A smaller-than-expected 0.1% increase in factory orders for July was also paid little attention.

However, a 5.2% month-over-month increase in pending home sales for July caught many by surprise since no improvement was expected.

That data has been a boon to the broader market, but the S&P 500 has had a hard time extending past the 1085 line.

The surprise increase in pending home sales has been especially beneficial to shares of homebuilders (+2.0%), home improvement retailers (+2.3%), and construction materials stocks (+1.6%).

Retailers have outperformed this session. Their strength is underpinned by a large batch of better-than-expected same-store sales results for August. As a group, retailers are up 1.6%.

Other corporate headlines include the acquisition of Burger King (BKC 23.44, +4.58) by 3G Capital for $24 per share in cash. Elsewhere in the merger and acquisition space, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 39.34, +0.13) increased its offer to acquire 3Par (PAR 32.83, +0.75) to $33 per share in cash, but Dell (DELL 12.39, +0.27) said it is done with bidding for 3Par.

A rig owned by Mariner Energy (ME 22.66, -0.69) exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, but subsequent reports indicate that the explosion has been contained and that there is no oil leak. Apache Corp. (APA 91.02, -1.44) was also hit by the news, given that it plans to acquire Mariner.

DJ30 +3.26 NASDAQ +10.25 SP500 +3.67 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1299/898 mln/1219 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1727/445 mln/1200

12:30 pm

The S&P 500 is back at the 1085 line, where it sports a solid gain, but faces stiff, upside resistance. Nonetheless, gains are relatively broad based in that eight of the 10 major sectors are in higher ground -- losses among telecom (-0.2%) and utilities (-0.7%) make them the lagging sectors of the day.

The dollar has dipped since this morning. It now trades with a 0.1% loss.

DJ30 +6.02 NASDAQ +14.12 SP500 +4.97 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1373/804 mln/1117 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1797/409 mln/1102

12:00 pm

The major market indices are all trading higher with the Dow continuing to teeter along the flat line, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq comfortably in the green.

The energy sector (+0.2%) has moved back into positive territory after seeing a sell off on reports of a rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Reports indicate the rig belongs to Mariner Energy (ME 22.48, -0.87) whose shares are now down 3.8%. The stock was trading down as much as 12% following the reports. Apache Corp. (APA 90.69, -1.77) is also trading lower on the news, because the company agreed to acquire Mariner Energy back on April 15th.

DJ30 +7.27 NASDAQ +14.25 SP500 +5.49 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1362/703.2 mln/1100 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1819/361.6 mln/1073

11:30 am

The major market averages have pulled back from their highs after finding a bid following the better-than-expected pending home sales data. The Dow is the lagging index, trading near the flat line, while the Nasdaq is the leader, up 0.5%.

The utilities sector (-0.8%) has underperformed the broader market, and is one of only three sectors trading lower. Within the S&P 500 Utilities Index 29 of 34 stocks are trading to the downside. Dominion Resources (D 43.27, -0.60), Ameren (AEE 28.58, -0.31), DTE Energy (DTE 47.30, -0.53), and Xcel Energy (XEL 22.55, -0.25) are the worst performing utilities stocks.

DJ30 -11.88 NASDAQ +10.32 SP500 +2.64 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1324/617.4 mln/1109 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1713/318.0 mln/1150

11:00 am

The Nasdaq has worked its way to a fresh session high, but the broader S&P 500 has paused just shy of its session high from earlier, near the 1085 line. Meanwhile, the Dow continues to trail its counterparts.

In the latest merger and acquisition activity, Burger King (BKC 23.40, +4.54) will be acquired by 3G Capital for $24 per share in cash. The offer price makes for a premium of more than 25% over the prior session's closing price.

Elsewhere, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 39.55, +0.34) increased its offer to acquire 3Par (PAR 32.83, +0.75) to $33 per share in cash. Rather than continue the bidding battle over 3Par, Dell (DELL 12.28, +0.16) announced that it has declined to raise its bid for the takeover target. Given that 3Par had already agreed to be acquired by Dell for a lower price just a couple of weeks ago, Dell is entitled to a $72 million break-up fee.

DJ30 +18.32 NASDAQ +15.13 SP500 +5.96 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1417/490 mln/959 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1901/260 mln/909

10:30 am

Stocks have pulled back a bit from their recent advance. Meanwhile, commodities are mixed, such that the CRB Commodity Index is flat after its 1.6% spike in the prior session marked its best single-session advance in more than a month.

Oil prices have been backed down a bit after they swung nearly 3% higher in the prior session. The energy component was last quoted 0.7% lower at $73.40 per barrel.

Natural gas prices remain near 11-month lows. Prices for the commodity were recently flat, but have since swung to a 1.5% loss at $3.70 per MMBtu in a knee-jerk response to news that natural gas inventories for the week ended August 27 had a build of 54 bcf, which is just shy of the consensus call for a build of 55 bcf.

Precious metals are up after failing to sustain gains in the prior session. Gold was last quoted with a 0.2% gain at $1249.20 per ounce. Meanwhile, silver has made its way to $19.59 per ounce, where it trades with a 1.2% gain. The precious metal set a fresh three-month high of $19.65 per ounce minutes ago.

DJ30 +4.24 NASDAQ +10.50 SP500 +4.07 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1333/365 mln/985 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1764/197 mln/972

10:00 am

Stocks have climbed to a solid gain with the release of the latest pending home sales data. According to the numbers, pending home sales for July were up 5.2% month-over-month. On average, economists polled by Qwoter.com had expected no change.

Separately, factory orders for July made a 0.1% increase, but that is below the 0.3% increase that had been widely expected.

Newfound strength has sent Treasuries lower. Significant losses for the second straight session have sent the yield on the 10-year Note back above 2.6%.

DJ30 +20.28 NASDAQ +8.61 SP500 +4.93 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1295/225 mln/915 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1767/132 mln/899

09:45 am

The major indices are flat in the opening minutes of trade, but retailers have ripped ahead to a 1.2% gain. Most of that move is owed to strength in department stroes like JC Penney (JCP 21.29, +0.54) or apparel retailers like Nordstrom (JWN 32.01, +1.69), both of which posted this morning same-store sales for August that exceeded analyst expectations.

Strength among retailers has helped prop up the consumer discretionary sector, which currently sports a 0.7% gain. Meanwhile, the broader market is muddling along in mixed interest.

DJ30 -5.45 NASDAQ -0.96 SP500 +1.01 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 875/122 mln/1247 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1181/81 mln/1411

09:15 am

S&P futures vs fair value: +2.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.50. Stock futures suggest a generally flat start to trade. The mood among market participants has been tempered since the prior session's surge by technical resistance in the 1080 zone, which is an approximate mark for the S&P 500's 50-day moving average, and a looming nonfarm payrolls report (official statistics on unemployment are due tomorrow). Also, today's data have brought little surprise. Specifically, weekly initial jobless claims were little changed week-over-week, as expected, and second quarter nonfarm fell in line with expectations. Fed Chairman Bernanke and FDIC Bair have just begun their testimony on the financial crisis. Coming up are monthly pending home sales figures and factory order data (10:00 AM ET). Data remains the primary focus of market participants. In turn, monthly same-store sales results from retailers have had little sway this morning, though numbers have generally been solid.

09:00 am

S&P futures vs fair value: +4.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.00. Futures for the S&P 500 have maintained a modest lead over fair value. Meanwhile, markets in Europe remain mixed. Europe's muddled action comes after it was announced eurozone GDP increased 1.0% in the second quarter. That matched what had been previously reported. The European Central Bank (ECB) announced that its target lending rate will remain at 1.00%, as expected. ECB President Trichet stated in a press conference that unlimited offerings will be extended into 2011. Trichet also said that the 2010 GDP outlook has been raised to reflect growth of 1.4% to 1.8%, up from the range 0.7% to 1.3%. For 2011, growth is now expected to range from 0.5% to 2.3%, up from 0.2% to 2.2%. As for the continent's major market averages, Germany's DAX is down 0.1% at the moment. Its declining issues outnumber advancers by 3-to-2. Automakers Daimler (DAI) and BMW (BMW) are leaders at the moment, while Deutsche Bank (DB) and Deutsche Boerse are laggards. In France, the CAC is up 0.3%. Advancers have a 2-to-1 edge over declining issues. BNP Paribas is a primary leader at the moment, while Pernod-Ricard is a drag. In Britain, the FTSE has mustered a 0.1% gain. Anglo American Plc is a primary leader. Vodafone is at the other end of the spectrum.

Asia's major equity averages rallied overnight to catch up with the heady gains that Wall Street had in the prior session. Kyocera (KYO) and TDK Corp were key sources of strength in Japan's Nikkei, which ascended to a 1.5% gain. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 1.2%. It was led by banking issues HSBC (HBC) and Industrial & Commercial Bank. Esprit Holdings was a notable laggard, though. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite climbed 1.3%. Its advancing issues outnumbered its decliners by almost 12-to-1. PetroChina (PTR) and China Petroleum (SNP) were among the leading issues, while China Pacific was atop the list of laggards.

08:35 am

S&P futures vs fair value: +4.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.50. Stock futures are up a bit from earlier levels, but the overall tone remains rather neutral. Initial jobless claims for the week ended August 28 totaled 472,000, which is in step with the 475,000 initial claims that had been widely expected. Initial claims for the prior week totaled 478,000. Meanwhile, continuing claims slipped to 4.46 million from 4.48 million. Separately, finalized nonfarm productivity in the second quarter fell 1.8%, which is essentially on par with the 1.7% decline that had been broadly anticipated after a preliminary report showed a 0.9% decline. Unit labor costs increased 1.1%, as expected, during the second quarter. The preliminary report showed a tepid increase of 0.2%.

08:00 am

S&P futures vs fair value: +2.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.00. Stock futures are flat following the S&P 500's 3% surge in the prior session. Formidable resistance remains in the 1080 zone, which marks the 50-day moving average of the benchmark index. Asia's major averages made sharp advances overnight, but markets in Europe are mixed at the moment. Europe's muddled action comes after it was announced that second quarter eurozone GDP increased 1.0%, as had been previously reported. Additionally, the European Central Bank has left its target lending rate unchanged at 1.00%, as expected. As for domestic data, a tally of weekly jobless claims is due at the bottom of the hour, along with the final reading on second quarter nonfarm productivity. Factory orders for July and pending home sales for the same month follow at 10:00 AM ET. Results from an auction of 10-year TIPS are due at 1:00 PM ET. As for notable speakers, Fed Chairman Bernanke and FDIC Chair Bair are scheduled to testify before a commission for financial crisis at 9:00 AM ET. A flurry of monthly same-store sales is hitting newswires at the moment. Of those that have already announced, results have been strong.

07:30 am

S&P futures vs fair value: +1.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.30.

07:28 am

Nikkei...9062.84...+135.80...+1.50%. Hang Seng...20868.92...+245.10...+1.20%.

07:28 am

FTSE...5363.28...-3.10...-0.10%. DAX...6074.36...-9.40...-0.20%.