(Updates to show Intel's advance after the bell, Nasdaq's
latest volume)
By Kristina Cooke
NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks gained on
Tuesday as record oil prices lifted energy shares and
stronger-than-expected quarterly results at several U.S.
regional banks boosted shares of financial companies.
The regional banks, including U.S. Bancorp <USB.N> and
Regions Financial Corp <RF.N>, expressed confidence they could
weather credit losses from the housing slump. The S&P
financial index <.GSPF> ended up 1.1 percent.
The positive tone continued after the closing bell. Intel
Corp <INTC.O> posted revenue just ahead of Wall Street's
expectations and stuck to its full-year profit margin target,
driving its shares up 7.4 percent to $22.45 in extended trade
and lifting S&P stock index futures. Intel closed on Nasdaq at
$20.91, up 1.1 percent, ahead of the earnings report.
Oil prices hit a record above $114 a barrel on supply
issues, rising demand in China and the persistent weakness of
the dollar.
During the regular session, Exxon Mobil <XOM.N> rose 1.2
percent and gave the top-weighted boost to both the Dow
average and the S&P 500.
But the market may have rung up bigger gains if not for a
warning from State Street Corp <STT.N> that it faces billions
of dollars of unrealized losses on some investments. The
financial services company's shares fell 9.9 percent to
$69.23.
"Sentiment has been pretty negative, but it has improved a
bit today as you had a few decent earnings reports this
morning," said Michael James, senior trader at regional
investment bank Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.
"The financials are a bit oversold so we're seeing a
bounce there, and there's also an expectation JPMorgan's
earnings will be good tomorrow."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 60.41
points, or 0.49 percent, to end at 12,362.47, while the
Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> climbed 6.11 points, or
0.46 percent, to 1,334.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index <>
rose 10.22 points, or 0.45 percent, to close at 2,286.04.
First-quarter profit exceeded forecasts at U.S. Bancorp,
Regions Financial, M&T Bank Corp <MTB.N> and Marshall & Ilsley
Corp <MI.N>. U.S. Bancorp operates mainly west of the
Mississippi River, Regions in the Southeast, M&T in
mid-Atlantic states, and Marshall & Ilsley in Wisconsin and
several other states.
The regional banks' results contrasted with the unexpected
loss posted Monday by Wachovia Corp <WB.N>, the nation's
fourth-largest bank.
Regions Financial Corp <RF.N> shares jumped 8.4 percent to
$20.12, M&T Bank Corp <MTB.N> climbed 6.3 percent to $85.86,
U.S. Bancorp rose 1.7 percent to $32.21 and Marshall & Ilsley
added 1.5 percent to $21.94.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase <JPM.N>, which reports earnings
on Wednesday, advanced 1.5 percent to $42.12.
Keeping gains in check, though, was Northrop Grumman Corp
<NOC.N> which was among the top drags on the S&P 500.
Northrop Grumman's stock fell 6.9 percent to $71.57 after the
defense contractor said it expects to take a first-quarter
pretax charge related to delays in its amphibious-assault-ship
program due to quality concerns.
Economic data earlier in the day painted a mixed picture.
The New York Federal Reserve Bank's Empire State
manufacturing index showed some stabilization in April after
tumbling to a record low in March, according to an index
compiled by the New York Fed.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department's overall Producer Price
Index jumped 1.1 percent in March -- or nearly twice the gain
of 0.6 percent that economists had expected. But the core PPI,
which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2
percent last month, in line with economists' expectations.
Trading was light on the New York Stock Exchange, with
about 1.23 billion shares changing hands, falling short of
last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion,
while on Nasdaq, about 1.90 billion shares traded, also below
last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of
about 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by about 5 to 4 on Nasdaq.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
