* Recent economic data boost bets on shares
* Goldman Sachs adds Microsoft to "conviction buy" list
* "Quadruple witching" on futures could add to volatility
* IMF may lift global growth forecast
* Indexes up: S&P 500 0.8 pct, Nasdaq 1.4 pct, Dow 0.6 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Updates to mid-morning, changes byline)
By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK, June 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday as
a recent spate of improving economic data beckoned investors
back into equity markets for a second day, but analysts warned
sentiment remained fragile.
The International Monetary Fund underscored the sense of
improving fundamentals after First Deputy Managing Director
John Lipsky said the fund may lift its 2010 growth forecast for
the world economy amid signs the decline in global output was
moderating. For details see []
The Dow and S&P 500 snapped a three-day losing streak on
Thursday as data on the job market and regional manufacturing
revived hopes that the recession-hit economy is stabilizing.
"In general the economic data that we've seen over the past
several months indicates that the economy is recovering, and
the majority of data has been less bad," said Michael Sheldon,
chief market strategist at RDM Financial in Westport,
Connecticut.
But, he continued, "we still have not seen economic data
that indicated an economic expansion has taken hold." Sheldon
warned of a pullback in prices over the coming weeks.
Goldman Sachs gave technology investors a new reason to
begin buying after the bank added Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> to
its Americas "conviction buy" list on improving revenue
prospects, overshadowing a disappointing outlook from
BlackBerry smartphone maker Research In Motion Ltd <RIM.TO>
<RIMM.O>. For details, see []
Shares of software maker Microsoft, a Dow component, rose
3.11 percent to $24.23.
Apple Inc <AAPL.O> was among the top boosts to the Nasdaq,
up 1.7 percent to $138.25 on the same day that its latest
iPhone mobile phone hit stores. Separately, AT&T Inc said it
had sold hundreds of thousands of iPhones in pre-orders.
[]
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was up 49.05
points, or 0.57 percent, at 8,604.65. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index <.SPX> was up 7.59 points, or 0.83 percent, at 925.96.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 24.67 points, or 1.36
percent, at 1,832.39.
Analysts said that the quarterly expiration and settlement
of June equity options and futures, a convergence known as
quadruple witching, will increase volatility throughout the
session, possible pushing indexes higher.
After gaining as much as 40 percent from a 12-year closing
low in early March, the S&P 500 has retreated as investors
reassessed the potential strength of an economic recovery.
Thursday's data revived some optimism, but analysts said real
improvement is needed to sustain the rally.
On Thursday, government data showed the number of people
staying on jobless benefits fell for the first time since
January, while manufacturing in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region
contracted much less than expected in June. []
After the close on Thursday, Research In Motion issued an
outlook that fell short of expectations. The stock fell 2
percent to $75.10, even as the company reported a rise in
quarterly profit that topped forecasts. []
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
