* FedEx gains after shipper raises outlook
* June home sales post largest percentage jump in 30 years
* S&P 500 Index holds above key technical 1,100 level
* Dow up 1 pct; S&P up 1.1 pct; Nasdaq up 1.2 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - An upbeat outlook from
FedEx, coupled with encouraging home sales, lifted U.S. stocks
on Monday, keeping the S&P 500 above 1,100 for a second day
and suggesting the rally could last.
FedEx Corp <FDX.N> raised its outlook, boosting its stock
by 5.6 percent. The news from the package delivery and
business services company validates the optimism of those who
believe the economic recovery is less fragile than recently
thought. For details, see []
"FedEx was very real, on top of UPS (last week), so if the
economy is slowing, people are still shipping a lot of stuff
around for a slowing economy," said Stephen Massocca, managing
director of Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.
The S&P 500 closed above the 1,100 level for the second
straight session, which some investors feel is of key
importance because it represented the top of a trading range
the benchmark index had failed to break several times in the
past month. In another milestone, the S&P 500 also rose above
its 200-day moving average of 1,113.71.
"There is a certain psychological victory there,"
Massocca added.
FedEx closed at $83.39, helping the Dow Jones
Transportation Average <.DJT> gain 2.6 percent.
A surprising 23.6 percent jump in new home sales in June
from May countered some disappointing data in recent weeks
that had increased concerns the economy may slip back into
recession. []
The Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction <.DJUSHB> Index
gained 2.9 percent. PulteGroup Inc <PHM.N>, up 4.7 percent at
$9.07, led the home builders' index higher.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 100.81
points, or 0.97 percent, to 10,525.43. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 12.35 points, or 1.12 percent, to
1,115.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> advanced 26.96
points, or 1.19 percent, to 2,296.43.
Monday's gains pushed the Dow up 0.9 percent for the year
to date and lifted the Nasdaq 1.2 percent for the year so far,
while the S&P 500 closed just shy of break-even, as the
indexes have clawed back from declines from late April's
closing highs.
The S&P 500 rose 7.8 percent during the three weeks ended
Friday, the largest gain in such a period since the first week
of August 2009.
Genzyme Corp <GENZ.O> jumped on takeover speculation, as
the Wall Street Journal said Britain's GlaxoSmithKline Plc
<GSK.L><GSK.N> had recently made "a very casual approach," to
the U.S. biotech company, while Bloomberg reported Genzyme had
rebuffed an offer from Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA><SNY.N>.
[] []
Genzyme surged 7.8 percent to $67.38.
BP Plc <BP.L> is expected to install an American known for
diplomacy as chief executive, replacing Tony Hayward who has
come under fire for his gaffe-prone handling of the worst oil
spill in U.S. history.
Bob Dudley, the U.S. executive managing the response
operation to the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, is poised to get
the top job in the next 24 hours, a move that could soften
U.S. criticism of the major British oil company, sources close
to BP say. [] [] []
U.S.-listed shares of BP <BP.N> gained 4.9 percent to
$38.65.
Volume was light with about 7.49 billion shares traded on
the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and
Nasdaq, short of last year's estimated daily average of 9.65
billion.
Advancing stocks handily outnumbered declining ones on the
NYSE by a ratio of 4 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, more than
three stocks rose for every one that fell.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Jan Paschal)
