By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks edged up Wednesday,
bouncing back from early losses after a better-than-expected
reading on new-home sales.
Chart watchers kept an eye again on the S&P 500 index (SPX)
as it traded near its Jan. 15 record close of 1,848.38. The
benchmark index topped that level intraday on Monday and Tuesday
but couldn't close above it.
The S&P 500 was last up 6 points, or 0.3%, to 1,851, led by
the consumer-discretionary and materials sectors. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average(DJI) gained 43 points, or 0.3%, to 16,223, with
Home Depot Inc.(HD) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT) faring best among
blue chips, both rising 1.9%. The Nasdaq Composite(RIXF) tacked on
24 points, or 0.6%, to 4,312.
The S&P 500 and Dow both opened higher, then slumped into
negative territory before rallying on the home-sales report. Sales
of new single-family homes started 2014 with surprising strength,
rising 9.6% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
468,000, above forecasts for 405,000.
The housing report was a "bit of good economic data" that's
"flying in the face" of recent weak economic reports that have been
blamed on bad weather, said Ryan Detrick, senior technical
strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
He told MarketWatch that the week is somewhat light on
market-moving headlines, so traders are focused on the S&P 500
"continuing to pound on the 1,850 area." The index eventually will
break through, he said, noting that March and April historically
have been the S&P 500's two best months. In the last 20 years,
March and April on average have delivered returns of 1.52% and
2.19%, respectively, topping all other months, according to
Schaeffer's data.
Follow the U.S. stock market live blog.
On the other hand, Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at
MKM Partners, said he sees U.S. equities in a "stalemate" following
their move up from their lows in early February.
The past two weeks "have largely been a consolidation for U.S.
equities," Krinsky wrote in a note on Wednesday. "Looking
objectively at the Bull and Bear arguments, we see no clear edge
for the SPX in the near-term. This likely means more frustration
for both Bulls and Bears."
In other U.S. economic news, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren
will speak on the economic outlook to the Boston Economic Club at
noon. At 7:30 p.m, Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto
discusses her 35 years at the Fed in a speech at the College of
Wooster.
In other markets, it was a choppy day in Asia, with the Nikkei
225 closing down 0.5% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index gaining
0.5%. European stocks were in the red with the Stoxx 600 pulling
back from a six-year high reached in the prior session. Gold fell,
while oil prices advanced, and the dollar rose against the euro and
the yen.
Among individual stocks, Target Corp. (TGT) jumped 5% as
investors cheered its fourth-quarter report, while rival Wal-Mart
rose amid news that its Sam's Club business was testing an online
subscription service as the threat from Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
grows.
Home Depot was up after No. 2 home-improvement retailer Lowe's
Cos.(LOW) announced a gain in fourth-quarter profit and additional
share buybacks.
On the downside, First Solar Inc. (FSLR) dropped 11% after the
company reported quarterly earnings late Tuesday that fell well
short of Wall Street forecasts. (Read more: Movers & Shakers
http://www.marketwatch.com/column/movers%20%26%20shakers?link=MW_Nav_MA.)
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