Wall Street looked like summer camp on Thursday.
In one of the frequent ironies on the Street, the top-performing sectors in Thursday’s stock rally were metals and mining stocks–the sectors thriving on higher commodity prices, which were said to stoke inflation fears at the Federal Reserve. Gold, oil and gasoline futures jumped.
Yet the overall market rallied, presumably because traders interpreted Thursday’s statement by Fed officials as a sign that inflation worries have subsided and interest rates won’t be raised again this summer.
In other words, the troublesome kids often act up in the cabin when the counselor goes out for a smoke.
An index of gold- and silver-related stocks tracked at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange jumped 7 percent, by far its biggest daily percentage gain this year.
Mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold soared $5.12, or 10.2 percent, to $55.26, the biggest percentage gainer in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
The Dow Jones industrial average surged 217.24 points, or 2 percent, to 11,190.80. The S&P 500 gained 26.87, or 2.2 percent, to 1272.87. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 62.54, or 3 percent, to 2174.38. The Russell 2000 small-company index gained 26.28, or 3.8 percent, to 714.32.
Among commodity-related stocks, Alcoa Aluminum, a component of the Dow industrials, rose $1.35, or 4.4 percent, to $31.90. Exxon Mobil, another Dow stock and the biggest point contributor to the S&P 500 gain, added $1.25, or 2 percent, to $62.37.
Just in time for the July 4th holiday, crude oil and gasoline futures jumped. Crude oil for August delivery added $1.33 a barrel, to $73.52. Gasoline for July delivery rose 8.89 cents a gallon, to $2.2948. Earlier in the session, the July contract hit $2.30, the highest level since last September.
Depressed technology stocks posted gains in the post-Fed rally. Semiconductor maker Intel rose 66 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $19.32. Financial-services stocks rallied on the prospect of stable interest rates. JPMorgan Chase added $1.41, or 3.4 percent, to $42.68.
Oak Brook-based McDonald’s advanced $1.59, or 5 percent, to $33.56, after receiving a “buy” recommendation from Merrill Lynch.
