* Banks up after Europe news, Goldman Sachs upgrade
* Home builders gain after October pending home sales rise
* Dow up 1 pct, S&P up 1.3 pct, Nasdaq up 1.2 pct
* for up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close)
NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street rallied for a
second day on Thursday as concerns about Europe's sovereign debt
crisis waned, giving investors the chance to add to positions in
winners among banks and retailers.
More than two stocks rose for every decliner on the New York
Stock Exchange, with bank stocks leading the way after Goldman Sachs
said improving economic conditions will favor that sector.
[]
The European Central Bank allayed some concerns of a growing
euro-zone crisis with hefty purchases of Portuguese and Irish debt.
The European Central Bank, however, said it did not plan to increase
the size of its liquidity program at this time.
The KBW bank index <.BKX> shot up 3.9 percent. The S&P 500
financial index <.GSPF> rose 2.6 percent, making it the largest
gainer among S&P sectors.
"The fears had been centered on Europe. That seems to have
stabilized, and now the focus is on what domestic and international
growth will look like. People are betting that growth will be better
than people had feared," said Mark Bronzo, portfolio manager at
Rydex-SGI in Irvington, New York.
Retailers' shares rose on stronger-than-expected November sales
data, which reflects a healthy start to the holiday shopping
season. The S&P 500 retail index <.RLX> rose 1.8 percent.
The data follows a recent flurry of reports suggesting a pick-up
in U.S. economic activity that has let investors worry less about
troubles overseas.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 106.63
points, or 0.95 percent, to 11,362.41. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 15.46 points, or 1.28 percent, to 1,221.53. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <> added 29.92 points, or 1.17 percent,
to 2,579.35.
Further supporting financial shares, Goldman Sachs Group
Inc <GS.N> said U.S. banks are on stronger footing because of
an improving economy, higher equity prices and a favorable
interest-rate environment. []
Shares of regional lender Marshall & Ilsley Corp <MI.N>
jumped 12.3 percent to $5.48 and Bank of America Corp <BAC.N>
gained 3.5 percent to $11.68.
Home builders' stocks rose as an index of pending home
sales unexpectedly climbed in October, hinting the economic
recovery had started to stabilize. The Dow Jones U.S. Home
Construction index <.DJUSHB> advanced 3.7 percent.
Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at BlackRock,
said an easing of fears over Europe meant investors could focus
on the strengthening economic picture, which was showing a
"continuation of this modest and noticeable improvement."
"Contrast it with the summer months when a double-dip was
in everybody's vocabulary and lo and behold, things start
getting a little bit better," he said.
Data showed U.S. retailers reported higher-than-forecast
sales for November, while the four-week moving average for
initial weekly claims for jobless benefits fell to a fresh
two-year low, though new requests rose for the week.
[]
PepsiCo Inc <PEP.N> agreed to buy Russian juice and dairy
producer Wimm-Bill-Dann <WBD.N>. U.S.-traded shares of Wimm-Bill-Dann
surged 27.9 percent to $31.34. [] In contrast, PepsiCo's
stock slipped 0.7 percent to $65.20.
The Dow and the S&P 500 scored their biggest one-day
percentage gains in three months on Wednesday as optimism about
efforts to resolve the European Union's debt crisis helped push
the S&P above 1,200.
If the S&P 500 continues to hold above 1,200, the market
will see strong resistance at 1,225-1,230, which coincides with
a recent two-year high and the 61.8 percent Fibonacci
retracement of the benchmark's slide from October 2007 to March
2009, a key technical indicator.
About 8.43 billion shares traded on the New York Stock
Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, and the Nasdaq, compared
with an average of 8.45 billion so far this year.
(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
