Wall St rises on strong U.S. data, financials
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By Steven C. JohnsonNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Wednesday, led by a rally in financial shares, after surprisingly strong data on durable goods orders soothed some concern about the economy.Energy shares also gained with oil, which rose for the third straight day on fears that Tropical Storm Gustav could interrupt oil and natural gas output in the Gulf of Mexico.Boeing Co. added more than 2 percent after the Commerce Department said a 28 percent rise in orders for civilian aircraft helped drive up demand for expensive manufactured items in July.Home finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac led financials higher, rising for a third straight day as a lack of government intervention eased shareholder concerns that their investment would be wiped out."Fannie and Freddie are leading the way here, though whether it's a dead cat bounce or something more meaningful remains to be seen," said Paul Nolte, director of investments at Hinsdale Associates in Hinsdale Illinois."(Financials) have been beaten down pretty good lately, so people may be just viewing this as a trading opportunity given current light volumes," he added.An index of financial shares was up 1.2 percent.The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 104.30 points, or 0.91 percent, at 11,517.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 10.23 points, or 0.80 percent, at 1,281.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 25.72 points, or 1.09 percent, at 2,387.69.Part of the rise in Fannie and Freddie shares was the result of a midday rumor that Treasury was to make an unspecified announcement about the two home finance companies. A spokeswoman, however, later said Treasury had no plans to announce anything about the two companies.Fannie Mae, the largest source of U.S. home financing, rose 8.8 percent to $6.13, while shares of Freddie gained 12.9 percent to $4.48.Shares of Bank of America , the No. 2 U.S. bank, were among the top boosts for the S&P and Dow, rising 1.9 percent to $29.59.Boeing rose 2.4 percent to $65, while the resurgence in oil prices boosted energy stocks, with Exxon Mobil adding 0.5 percent to $80.38 and ConocoPhillips up 1.2 percent at $83.60.On Nasdaq, shares of Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. fell more than 25 percent on news that the diabetes drug, Byetta, that it sells with Eli Lilly & Co. was linked to four more deaths in pancreatitis patients, adding to two deaths announced by federal regulators last week.Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pfizer Inc. fell after they said late Tuesday their apixaban blood clot preventer failed its primary goal in a late-stage trial and that they no longer plan to seek marketing approval for it next year. Bristol-Myers was off 2.3 percent at $21.47 and Pfizer fell 1.1 percent to $19.07.(Additional reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
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