* Intel, JPMorgan Chase fall despite strong results
* China data lifts Caterpillar, industrials
* Share volume highest in three months
* Dow and S&P 500 each up 0.7 pct; Nasdaq up 1 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates with Apple's record above $300 and latest volume)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes hit their
highest level in five months on Wednesday as
stronger-than-expected earnings and lingering U.S. dollar
weakness increased demand for equities.
Shares in the industrials and materials sectors led the way
while commodity prices soared as China's month-on-month import
growth hit a record high.
Completing a bullish trifecta, the S&P 500 broke a
short-term technical barrier and triggered more buying of
stocks as money managers chased performance. The S&P 500 is up
12.3 percent since Sept. 1.
"There's three months left in the year and a lot of fund
managers are watching the clock," said Richard Ross, global
technical strategist at Auerbach Grayson in New York.
"In that type of environment, the path of least resistance
is often the path you want to be on."
Despite posting strong results that helped lift sentiment,
Dow components JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> and Intel Corp
<INTC.O> saw their shares slide.
JPMorgan slipped 1.4 percent to $39.84 as its weak revenue
highlighted feeble loan demand and declining trading volumes in
the industry. []. The KBW bank index <.BKX>
slipped 1 percent.
Intel dropped 2.7 percent to $19.24 after its shares had
risen in the last six sessions.
Railroad operator CSX Corp <CSX.N> jumped 4.2 percent to
$59.66 after it reported stronger-than-expected quarterly
profits late Tuesday. []. The Dow Jones
Transportation Average <.DJT> jumped 2.6 percent.
Further whetting risk appetite and weakening the greenback,
details from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting showed
Tuesday the U.S. central bank may once again flood markets with
cheap cash "before long."
Industrials and materials were the S&P 500's leading
sectors. Caterpillar Inc <CAT.N> rose 1.2 percent to $80.29 and
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold <FCX.N> jumped 4.2 percent to
$99.08.
"From a macro standpoint, we have continued weakness in the
U.S. dollar, once again giving rise to large multinationals and
driving up dollar-denominated commodities," Auerbach Grayson's
Ross said.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 75.68
points, or 0.69 percent, to 11,096.08. The Standard & Poor's
500 <.SPX> added 8.33 points, or 0.71 percent, to 1,178.10. The
Nasdaq Composite <> rose 23.31 points, or 0.96 percent, to
2,441.23.
The S&P 500 broke a key short-term technical resistance
level when it moved above 1,173.57, the highest point it had
hit since the market's "flash crash" on May 6.
The next technical barrier for the S&P 500 is at the 2010
high, near 1,220.
APPLE POPS ABOVE $300
Apple Inc <AAPL.O> moved above $300 for the first time as
investors anticipated another strong earnings report from the
iPhone maker next week. The stock closed at a record $300.14,
up 0.5 percent, after earlier hitting an all-time intraday high
of $301.96. [].
About 9.18 billion shares traded on the New York Stock
Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq -- the
highest day for volume since July 16, and above the year's
average so far of about 8.78 billion.
"In the absence of real overhead resistance, there's been
an increasing conversion of skeptics (of the stocks' rally)
into believers," Ross said.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
a ratio of slightly more than 3-to-1. On the Nasdaq, about 20
stocks rose for every seven that fell.
S&P 500 companies' earnings are expected to rise 23.6
percent from a year ago, which would represent a fourth
straight quarter of year-over-year earnings increases,
according to Thomson Reuters data.
Although the earnings period has just begun, results from
81 percent of S&P 500 companies have surpassed expectations.
The long-term average for beats for an entire reporting period
is 61 percent, Thomson Reuters data showed.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Caroline
Valetkevitch and Gabriel Madway; Editing by Jan Paschal)
