* Miners and energy shares rise with commodities
* EGPT ETF falls as Van Eck resumes share creation
* Volume remains light on global uncertainty
* Dow up 0.6 pct, S&P up 0.3 pct, Nasdaq up 0.5 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced on
Wednesday as materials shares rose, but rising commodities
prices due to turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa could
keep rallies modest.
The market's favored indicator of anxiety, the Chicago
Board Options Exchange Volatility Index or VIX <.VIX>, shows
investor worry over unsettled world situations has been
tempered for the moment. But the lack of volume and moderate
gains suggest optimism is limited in scope.
"Nobody really wants to step in front, they are waiting to
see, and obviously the selling was a little overdone on the
Japan situation," said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment
officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.
"There is nothing else out there right now to kind of
provide that kick up."
About 7.01 billion shares traded on the New York Stock
Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq -- below the
daily average of 8.07 billion. The market posted the worst
trading volume of the year on Tuesday.
The S&P index of materials stocks <.GSPM> rose 1.4 percent
and was the S&P 500's top-performing sector. The sector climbed
in sync with metals prices, including copper <CMCU3>, which was
up more than 2 percent. []
Brent crude <LCOc1> settled at $115.55 a barrel and U.S.
crude <CLc1> gained 78 cents to settle at $105.75, the highest
close since September 2008, as further unrest in Yemen added to
risks of oil supply disruptions in the region. []
"These rising commodity costs could be with us for some
time -- that creates a headwind for growth," said Karl Mills,
president of Jurika, Mills & Keifer Investment Partners, in
Oakland, California.
While higher oil prices would benefit energy companies,
they would have a dampening effect on economic growth over a
longer time horizon.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 67.39
points, or 0.56 percent, to 12,086.02. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 3.77 points, or 0.29 percent, to
1,297.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> climbed 14.43
points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,698.30.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold <FCX.N> shares jumped 5
percent to $54.88 after Chief Executive Richard Adkerson,
speaking at a Reuters summit in New York, said the company has
the balance sheet to handle a large acquisition. For details,
see []
As for the outlook for energy demand and costs, Mills said:
"Japan now has to replace 10 percent of its electricity
production, probably through natural gas and oil. Some of it
will come from the Middle East, which is going through its own
trouble right now.
"That probably gives energy pricing more of a floor where
it is."
Refiner Valero Energy <VLO.N> gained 2.6 percent to $28.83.
For the year, Valero's stock is up nearly 25 percent.
Shares of Exxon Mobil <XOM.N>, up 0.05 percent at $82.60 on
Wednesday, have gained 13 percent since the start of the year.
Money manager Van Eck Global resumed creating new shares of
its Market Vectors Egypt Index Exchange Traded Fund <EGPT.P>
after the local Egyptian market reopened. [] The
fund was down 8.1 percent at $15.30, following losses in the
Egyptian market. []
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For graphics, please see:
Egypt ETF downdraft:
http://r.reuters.com/sat68r
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
1,635 to 1,325, while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners
1,386 to 1,216.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Jan Paschal)
