* Dow hits 11,000, indexes up for sixth week in a row
* Chevron leads energy sector up after upbeat outlook
* Inventories rise more than expected in February
* Dow up 0.6 pct, S&P up 0.7 pct, Nasdaq up 0.7 pct
(Updates to close)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday
with the Dow surpassing 11,000 for the first time in a
year-and-a-half after Chevron's upbeat outlook and wholesale
inventories data reinforced bets on an improving economy.
The S&P energy sector <.GSPE>, up 1.1 percent, led the
market's advance. Chevron Corp <CVX.N> climbed 2.4 percent to
$79.50 a day after it said its refining and marketing arm
would return to profit in the first quarter. For details, see
[].
Data showed U.S. wholesale inventories rose more than
expected in February and sales at wholesalers reached their
highest level in 16 months, brightening prospects for
first-quarter economic and earnings growth. [].
Shares of technology companies, which are often among the
first to benefit from economic strength, also outperformed the
broader market. Cisco Systems <CSCO.O> gained 1.2 percent to
$26.60 and Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> added 1.4 percent to
$30.33.
"Most investors acknowledge that the recession has ended,
and the question facing the market now is,'Are we moving from
a recovery to sustainable growth?'" said Michael Sheldon,
chief market strategist at RDM Financial in Westport,
Connecticut. "Economic data so far in April has been fairly
encouraging."
The Dow briefly surpassed the psychologically important
11,000 mark late in the session for the first time since
September 2008, when Wall Street was reeling from the credit
meltdown, though on Friday, the Dow closed a shade below that
milestone.
The three major U.S. stock indexes scored a sixth straight
week of gains -- a positive run not seen since stocks
rebounded from more than 12-year lows in March 2009.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 70.28
points, or 0.64 percent, to 10,997.35. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 7.93 points, or 0.67 percent, to
1,194.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> added 17.24
points, or 0.71 percent, to 2,454.05.
For the week, the Dow rose 0.6 percent, the S&P 500 gained
1.4 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 2.1 percent.
Though some momentum indicators suggest the rally could
start to run out of steam, the market has continued to grind
higher and add another leg to the run-up started last March.
The S&P 500 has gained 76.5 percent since it hit a 12-year
closing low March 9, 2009.
"It's hard to rationalize how a market can keep going up
without increasing amounts of volume to support the rally,"
Sheldon said. "At some point, that will become a factor, but
at least for now, the trend remains higher."
Another lift for the energy sector came from Atlas Energy
<ATLS.O> shares, which surged 20.3 percent to $38.25 after
Indian energy company Reliance Industries <RELI.BO> agreed to
pay $1.7 billion for a stake in an Atlas shale project to
provide natural gas. [].
Other leaders in the sector included ConocoPhillips
<COP.N>, up 2.6 percent at $55.32, and Exxon Mobil Corp
<XOM.N>, up 1.3 percent at $68.76.
Department store operator J.C. Penney Co Inc <JCP.N> rose
1.7 percent to $31.52 after Goldman Sachs added the stock to a
list of recommended buys.
Palm Inc <PALM.O> jumped 11 percent to $5.16, capping a
volatile week in which the smartphone maker's stock has
seesawed on options market chatter and takeover rumors.
[].
Worries about Greece's debt problems, which have weighed
on stocks for weeks, eased after a European Union source said
policy-makers had reached an agreement on terms of possible
emergency loans for Athens. The U.S. dollar index <.DXY>
slipped 0.8 percent. Earlier, stocks pared gains on news that
Fitch downgraded Greece's debt rating. []
(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jan Psachal)
