By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks jumped on Monday, lifting
the S&P 500 to within reach of its record, as Wall Street
celebrated Larry Summers taking his name out of the running to head
the Federal Reserve.
"Summers had been a critic of quantitative easing, and global
markets are thrilled he will not be in charge of taking away their
'fix' too quickly," wrote Nick Raich, chief executive officer at
the Earnings Scout, in emailed commentary.
Equities were also bolstered by a weekend agreement between the
U.S. and Russia on a plan to get rid of Syria's chemical
weapons.
"After the initial shock of the Summers announcement begins to
wear off, we expect the stock market to consolidate recent gains,
as it digests Fed news and waits to see how developments in Syria
progress," noted Fred Dickson, chief investment strategist at
Davidson Companies.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) was 6.23 points from its record of
1,709.67 hit on Aug. 2, as it traded up 13.88 points, or 0.8%, at
1,701.87. Materials paced sector gains.
Packaging Corp. of America (PKG) leapt 6.5% after the maker of
corrugated shipping boxes said it would acquire Boise Inc.(BZ) for
about $1.27 billion. Boise rallied 26%.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) fell 2.1%, making the consumer technology
company among the top decliners on the S&P 500, adding to
losses that have had its shares knocked four out of five sessions
since the introduction of a lower-cost iPhone.
Allegheny Technologies Inc.'s (ATI) shares rose 10% after the
metal processor agreed to sell its tungsten materials unit to
Kennametal Inc. (KMT) for $605 million.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 147.47 points, or
1%, to 15,523.53.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) climbed 9.37 points, or 0.3%, to
3,731.56.
For every stock falling, roughly four rose on the New York Stock
Exchange, where almost 300 million shares traded by 1.25 a.m.
Eastern. Composite volume approached 1.7 billion.
The dollar (DXY) declined against the currencies of major U.S.
trading partners and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note
(10_YEAR) dropped 3 basis points to 2.853%.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil fell, with futures
(CLV3) off $1.30, or 1.2%, to $106.92 a barrel. The price of gold
(GCZ3) rose $9.50, or 0.7%, to $1,318.10 an ounce.
The exit by Summers, a former Treasury secretary and economic
adviser to President Barack Obama, came as Democrats on the Senate
Banking Committee voiced opposition to his nomination, which had
not been announced.
His exit comes just ahead of a two-day Fed meeting that begins
Tuesday, with the central bank expected to start cutting its $85
billion in monthly bond purchases otherwise known as quantitative
easing. That stimulus has helped the S&P 500 surge more than
150% from its March 2009 low.
A critic of quantitative easing, Summers was viewed as more
likely to tighten monetary policy than Janet Yellen, the current
Fed vice chairman now considered the most likely person to replace
Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Fed.
Monday's economic reports included manufacturing in the New York
region expanding less than expected this month, despite a pickup in
orders and shipments.
The Federal Reserve said industrial production climbed in
August.
On Friday, Wall Street knocked out a second week of gains as
worries about Syria ebbed and as investors looked to this week's
monetary-policy decision by the Fed.
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