* U.S. stocks gain for sixth day, set 2009 closing highs
* Oil at 5-week high on US cold snap, recovery optimism
* Bond prices sag as equities gain in thin trading volume
* Dollar gains against the yen, euro in light trade
(Updates with close of U.S. markets)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Oil rose to a five-week high
over $79 a barrel on Monday on signs of economic recovery,
while global stocks edged higher as increased U.S. retail
sales during the key holiday shopping season lifted U.S.
equities.
U.S. equities -- as measured by the Dow, S&P 500 and
Nasdaq -- gained for a sixth straight session and set fresh
closing highs for 2009.
The U.S. dollar rose against the yen and euro in the
second week of holiday-shortened trading, as investors
assessed the outlook for the greenback after a recent rally.
[]
Volume was light overall, exaggerating swings in security
prices, with many market participants absent because of the
holidays. Markets in Britain, Canada and Australia shut for
Boxing Day, while Monday was the last business day of 2009 for
many Japanese companies.
Expectations of colder weather in the United States and
signs of economic recovery boosted the outlook for fuel
demand, pushing crude above $79 a barrel at one point.
[]
Oil has climbed more than 12 percent from a dip below $70
two weeks ago on expectations of rising consumption and
falling inventories in the United States, where companies have
been drawing down stockpiles for year-end tax purposes.
[]
"The market continues to climb on bullish momentum. Cold
weather, economic optimism, Russian/Ukraine concerns, possible
further draws in this week's inventory reports, all are in the
mix," said Tom Bentz, analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures
Inc.
News that Russia and Ukraine agreed on the terms of a new
deal governing the transit of oil exports to Europe eased
concerns about a potential disruption, which had supported
prices early Monday. []
There was little market impact from news over the weekend
of an attempt to blow up a passenger plane en route to
Detroit. []
U.S. crude <CLc1> gained 72 cents to settle at $78.77 a
barrel in thin trade, after earlier touching $79.12, the
highest since Nov. 23. Heating oil futures led gains in the
oil complex as forecasters called for colder weather in the
United States.
U.S. stocks edged higher as retailers' shares rose on data
that pointed to an improved performance during the holidays,
while rising commodity prices boosted the resource sector.
[]
Sales at U.S. retailers rose 3.6 percent from Nov. 1
through Christmas Eve on Dec. 24, data from SpendingPulse, a
unit of MasterCard Advisors showed, although sales were up
only 1 percent when adjusted for an extra shopping day this
year.
The S&P Retail index <.RLX> added 0.3 percent.
"A few people were looking for a disaster, so that's a
little bit of a boost," said Fred Dickson, market strategist
at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
"It looks like we're drifting into year end with a modest
rally on light volume."
Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O> rose 0.6 percent after it said
customers bought more e-books than physical books for the
first time ever on Christmas Day as the Kindle e-reader became
Amazon's most-purchased gift ever. []
The Dow Jones industrial average <> closed up 26.98
points, or 0.26 percent, at 10,547.08. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> gained 1.30 points, or 0.12 percent, to
finish at 1,127.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> added
5.39 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 2,291.08.
Gold rose slightly in quiet trade, and U.S. copper
finished at 16-month highs, pushed up by lower inventories of
the metal on the Shanghai futures exchange and a weaker
dollar. [] GE5BR03Y]
U.S. gold futures for February delivery climbed $3.10 to
settle at $1,107.90 an ounce in New York.
The dollar was up against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.02 percent at 77.66.
The euro <EUR=> was down 0.15 percent at $1.4375. Against
the yen, the dollar <JPY=> was up 0.52 percent at 91.65.
"The dollar has recovered a bit from its losses last
Thursday, but I wouldn't put too much into the dollar's gains
today," said Vassili Serebriakov, senior currency strategist,
at Wells Fargo in New York.
U.S. government debt prices fell following a $44 billion
auction of two-year notes.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 12/32 in price to yield 3.85 percent.
Japan's Nikkei average <> rose 1.3 percent to a
four-month closing high, ending at 10,634.23, on data showing
factory output rising for the ninth straight month in
November. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 0.5 percent.
(Reporting by Leah Schnurr, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, Matthew
Robinson and Emily Flitter in New York; Joanne Frearson,
Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Dominic Lau and Alex Lawler in
London; Writing by Herbert Lash; Editing by Jan Paschal)
