* U.S. stocks surge as Goldman, Coke results top views
* Spanish auction well received, weakening safe-haven bid
* Dollar, yen fall as riskier currencies gain favor
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks headed for their
biggest gain in a month and riskier currencies also rallied o n
Tu esday as encouraging U.S. corporate earnings and improved
confidence in Spain’s debt and Europe spurred investors to take
on more risk.
Shares on Wall Street snapped a two-day decline, joining
buoyant stock markets across the world, after forecast-beating
results by some major U.S. companies.
A Spanish bond auction drew stronger demand than expected,
and upbeat German sentiment data eased worries about the euro
zone crisis, pushing European stocks higher. U.S. Treasuries
prices fell on the renewed appetite for stocks and as the demand
for the short-term Spanish debt tempered safe-haven moves.
Benchmark Brent oil in London closed higher, tracking other
global markets, after trending lower early in the session.
The dollar and the yen, both low-yielding currencies,
faltered as the renewed confidence drove investors to seek
higher returns from riskier currencies such as the Canadian
loonie and Australian dollar.
On Wall Street, the S&P; 500 rose 1.6 percent, heading for
its largest one-day gain since March 13.
The broader Dow rose almost as much after quarterly
results from investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc and
beverage giant Coca-Cola Co topped expectations. The
tech-heavy Nasdaq was lifted by a 4 percent rally in
shares of consumer electronics icon Apple.
“Earnings numbers have so far come in fairly positive and
there was a lot of uncertainty regarding what those would look
like,” said Michael Yoshikami, CEO and founder at Destination
Wealth Management in Walnut Creek, California.
German analyst and investor confidence rose unexpectedly in
April to a high not seen since June 2010.
“The Germany survey combined with the announcement from
Spain has helped (the market),” Yoshikami said.
Of the 39 companies in the S&P; 500 index that have reported
results through Tuesday morning, 74.4 percent topped analysts’
expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data. This week, 86
S&P; 500 companies are scheduled to report.
Yields on Spain’s 10-year bonds dipped below 6 percent ahead
of a longer-term Spanish government debt auction on Thursday.
Spanish debt yields have jumped recently on concerns about the
nation’s fiscal stability in the latest flare-up of the euro
zone debt crisis.
But some had doubts whether the market strength would last,
as focus turned to Thursday’s Spanish debt auction. Spain is
seen as the potential new source of contagion in the euro zone
debt crisis.
“We have a 10-year note auction on Thursday in Spain and
that will be very important,” said Wilmer Stith, a portfolio
manager of Wilmington Trust Broad Market Bond Fund, part of
Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors with about $15 billion in
assets under management. “Spanish yields are below 6 percent
which is somewhat encouraging going into Thursday’s auction.”
Half an hour before the close, the Dow Jones industrial
average was up 201.85 points, or 1.56 percent, at
13,123.26. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 22.54
points, or 1.65 percent, at 1,392.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index
was up 59.91 points, or 2.00 percent, at 3,048.31.
In Europe the FTSE Eurofirst index of top European
shares closed up 2 percent. The MSCI world equity index
was up 1.4 percent.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 7/32, the
yield at 2.0052 percent.
