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US close: Dow back above 13,000

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Date: Friday 02 May 2008

LONDON (ShareCast) - US markets pushed forward with the benchmark Dow edging past the 13,000 mark for the first time since the start of the year on better-than-expected consumer spending figures.

US consumer spending rose 0.4% in March, though this was largely due to higher prices for energy and food. Personal income increased a less-than-expected 0.3%, while core PCE deflator rose more-than-expected at 0.2%.

Construction spending fell 1.1% in March against expectations of a 0.7% drop, while spending rose 0.4%.

In other economic news, ISM manufacturing activity remained unchanged in April at 48.6 against expectations of a fall to 48. Job claims rose by 35,000 last week versus forecasts of an increase of 18,000.

The Dow Jones jumped 189 points to 13,010 with the Nasdaq rose 67 points to 2480. The S&P 500 increased 23 points 1409.

In company news, Exxon’s first quarter earnings per share of $2.03 were some 10 cents short of analysts’ expectations.

PC utilities company Symantec rallied after releasing better than expected results. The publisher of Norton anti-virus said net income tripled in the fourth quarter of its financial year to $186.4m on sales that grew 13%.

JDS Uniphase was down heavily. The manufacturer of testing equipment for telecommunications networks fell unexpectedly into the red in its fiscal third quarter.

The US’s largest cable company Comcast posted a 14% gain in first quarter sales. The rise, which was driven by the company’s internet service provision arm, was higher than analysts had been anticipating.