* U.S., European stocks rise on surprise corporate results
* Dollar little changed as traders await Fed statement
* Oil falls as data suggests slowing energy consumption
* U.S. government debt rallies on record auction of notes
(Adds close of U.S. markets)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Better-than-expected corporate
results lifted U.S. stocks on Tuesday, but oil prices plunged 9
percent as news of a fall in U.S. consumer confidence to a
record low and tumbling home prices stirred concerns about
demand.
U.S. Treasury debt, meanwhile, rallied on the sale of a
record $40 billion offering of two-year notes and speculation
the Federal Reserve will buy long-dated government bonds.
Wall Street rallied for a third session in a row on hopes
that despite the drumbeat of negative news, government efforts
to stabilize the flagging U.S. economy will start to work.
A number of corporate results that beat analysts
expectations also helped investors discount the dire data.
"The further we get through earnings season, the better off
we're going to be," said Bruce Zaro, chief technical strategist
at Delta Global Advisors in Boston.
American Express <AXP.N> led the Dow higher, gaining 9.5
percent after its results late Monday surpassed expectations.
However, like many companies, it warned 2009 will be tough.
Other companies reporting better-than-expected results
included Travelers Cos Inc <TRV.N>, the large U.S. home, auto
and commercial insurer, candy maker Hershey Co <HSY.N> and chip
maker Texas Instruments <TXN.N>.
Shares of Travelers rose 6.2 percent, Hershey gained 6.8
percent while Texas Instruments added 3.7 percent.
"We've had some more numbers coming through that have been
-- I don't want to say good -- but to some extent not as bad as
people had thought," said Tim Smalls, head of U.S. stock
trading at brokerage Execution LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> rose 58.70 points,
or 0.72 percent, at 8,174.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> gained 9.14 points, or 1.09 percent, at 845.71. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <> added 15.44 points, or 1.04
percent, at 1,504.90.
European shares closed slightly higher after staging a late
after results from Siemens, the German industrial conglomerate,
calmed fears about earnings at companies reeling from the
global slowdown.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top regional
European shares closed 0.1 percent higher at 785.64 points.
Siemens stuck <SIEGn.DE> to its full-year profit outlook,
sending its stock up 2.8 percent and boosting industrial
shares, with Alstom <ALSO.PA> gaining 4.2 percent.
Investors in Europe, however, remained skeptical.
"Short-term rallies are to be expected, but stocks will
certainly revisit their historical lows before we get an
L-shaped recovery, with anemic growth for a while," said Pierre
Sabatier, head of strategy at Pythagore Investment, in Paris.
In other news, home prices plunged a record 18.2 percent in
November from a year earlier as the U.S. housing market
remained in the throes of a deep recession, according to the
Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.
And the Conference Board, an industry group, said its
consumer sentiment index fell in January to 37.7 from a revised
38.6 the previous month, confounding forecasts for a small
uptick.
The dollar was little changed against a basket of
currencies as traders awaited the end on Wednesday of a two-day
policy meeting of the Federal Reserve at which the central bank
may announce new efforts to thaw frozen credit markets.
"Rates can't go any lower, and they certainly can't raise
them, so all that's left for the Fed is tell us what their
plans are," said Chuck Butler, president of Everbank World
Markets in St. Louis.
The dollar rose against a basket of major currencies, with
the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.08 percent at 84.454.
The euro <EUR=> rose 0.06 percent at $1.3173, while against
the yen, the dollar <JPY=> fell 0.09 percent at 88.92.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> rose
32/32 in price to yield 2.53 percent. The 30-year U.S. Treasury
bond <US30YT=RR> added 90/32 in price to yield 3.25 percent.
U.S. crude <CLc1> settled down $4.15 at $41.58 a barrel,
hurt by fears of slowing demand in the United States, the
world's largest energy consumer. The 9 percent decline was the
biggest percentage fall since Jan. 7. London Brent crude
<LCOc1> settled down $3.23 at $43.73 a barrel.
U.S. gold futures ended lower, snapping a three-session
winning streak, as investors locked in profits after the price
of bullion rallied above $900 an ounce on safe-haven buying.
Gold for February delivery <GCG9> settled down $9.30 at
$899.50 an ounce New York.
Japan's Nikkei average <> rose 4.9 percent, its
biggest one-day gain in percentage terms since mid-December,
after the government unveiled a $16.7 billion program to buy
stakes in non-financial companies threated with collapse.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 1.3 percent.
(Reporting by John Parry, Leah Schnurr in New York; Jane
Merriman in London and Blaise Robinson in Paris; writing by
Herbert Lash; Editing by Leslie Adler)
