By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks climbed on Monday, with
the S&P 500 extending its longest win streak since July, as
Chinese exports beat projections and as investors anticipated the
unveiling of its new iPhone models.
"China came out with significantly better economic data over the
weekend, and that's important to us because the China demand story
continues to be a very important piece of the global economic
picture," said Art Hogan, market strategist at Lazard Capital
Markets.
"There's excitement about the Apple product announcement
tomorrow, and Apple is one of the largest components of the S&P
500. And volumes are low and participation is still timid, so any
moves get exaggerated, very much like we saw in the volatility on
Friday," Hogan added of the end-of-week session, which had the Dow
Jones Industrial Average (DJI) crossing zero 11 times.
Helping lift equities to afternoon highs were reports related to
Syria, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying his
nation had called on Syria to relinquish its chemical-arms
stockpile if the move would help prevent a U.S.-led military
strike.
A top aide to President Barack Obama said the White House would
take a "hard look" at Russia's proposal for Syria to put its
chemical weapons under international control. The "chatter that a
negotiated settlement for Syria's chemical weapons might be a
possibility" bolstered equities, said Michael Sheldon, chief market
strategist at RDM Financial.
On Monday afternoon, the Dow industrials were positioned for
their best performance in more than eight weeks, rising nearly 166
points and lately up 149.04 points, or 1%, at 15,071.54.
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and Alcoa Inc. (AA) led gains that included
all but two of the blue-chip index's 30 members.
Heavy-equipment-maker Caterpillar rose 2.9% and aluminum
producer Alcoa gained 2.4% after Beijing's General Administration
of Customs reported Chinese exports rose 7.2% in August from the
year-earlier period.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) climbed 15.89 points, or 1%, to
1,671.06, with materials and information technology pacing broad
gains that included all of its 10 major industry groups. The Nasdaq
Composite index (RIXF) rose 44.28 points, or 1.2%, to 3,704.28.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) rose 1.6% before an investor event where the
iPhone maker will unveil upgraded versions of its smartphone.
Molex Inc. (MOLX) jumped nearly 32% after the manufacturer of
electronic components for products including Apple's iPhone agreed
to be purchased for $7.2 billion by Koch Industries Inc., the
holding company run by the billionaire Koch brothers.
Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) gained 8.6% after S&P Dow Jones
Indices said the carrier would replace BMC Software Inc. (BMC) in
the S&P 500.
For every stock on the decline, almost four rose on the New York
Stock Exchange, where 386 million shares traded as of 3:10 p.m.
Eastern.
Composite volume approached 2.3 billion.
The thinly traded market comes in a "historically difficult
month" for stocks, and follows a trend that had "a significant
amount of risk" coming out of equities in August, with the S&P
500 losing 3.1%, noted Hogan.
While many Wall Street professionals are back at their desks
after summer breaks, the low volume and high volatility is likely
to continue "until we get resolution in a lot of the September
issues," said Hogan.
With Congress back in session, those issues include potential
U.S. military strikes against Syria, the budget-debt ceiling and
approving a replacement for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke,
with President Barack Obama expected to nominate someone in coming
weeks.
Treasury yields fell, with the benchmark 10-year note used in
figuring mortgage rates and other consumer loans off four basis
points at 2.9%.
The dollar fell against the currencies of major U.S. trading
partners including the euro (EURUSD) but excluding the Japanese yen
(USDJPY).
The cost of energy declined, with a barrel of crude (CLV3)
priced at $109.52 a barrel, down $1.01, or 0.9%, on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
Gold futures(GCZ3) gained 20 cents to $1,386.70 an ounce.
Wall Street on Friday finished higher for the week as reports
indicated increased global economic growth even as investors
weighed possible U.S. military action in Syria and chances of the
Federal Reserve cutting back on its monetary stimulus later in the
month.
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