Strong Chinese data started domestic markets higher to mark the fifth straight day of gains. The Nasdaq set a new 13 year higher while other indexes approach their previous peaks.
Major Indexes
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose surged 138.68 points, or 0.93 percent to close at 15,061.08.
The S&P 500 added 16.48 points, or one percent to close at 1,671.66.
The Nasdaq rose points 46.17, or 1.26 percent to close at 3,706.18.
The Russell 3000 climbed 10.34 points, or 1.04 percent to close at 1,001.2.
Top Stories
Chinese exports for the month of August grew 7.2 percent year over year. This is a huge shock to many investors who saw Chinese dominance coming to an end after recording export contraction of 3.1 percent in June. This is the second consecutive month year over year exports are up.
Carl Icahn spoke on Bloomberg television this afternoon, announcing he will not pursue additional efforts to defeat Michael Dell’s proposal for the company. Regardless, shares of Dell DELL oscillated between a one cent range after his announcement.
Traders are still waiting for the White House to announce its plan for Syria.
Stock Movers
Molex MOLX rose 31.66 percent to $38.63 after the company agreed to be acquired by Koch Industries for $7.2 billion in cash.
Isis Pharmaceuticals ISIS shot up 13.93 percent to $31.81 after the company and Biogen Idec BIIB announced a strategic collaboration to develop new treatments for neurological disorders.
Fusion-io FIO gained 25.58 percent to $13.60 after the company was upgraded at Craig-Hallum as a ‘likely take out target'
Sagent Pharmaceuticals SGNT were down 7.78 percent to $21.80 after the company announced an offering of 4,441,627 shares of common stock.
UTi Worldwide UTIW was also down, falling 4.80 percent to $15.27 after the company's fourth quarter results disappointed traders on Friday.
Community Health Systems CYH dropped 4.26 percent to $37.99 after Citigroup downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral.
Global markets
Asian markets jumped higher on the strong Chinese data. The Shanghai index rose 3.39 percent with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.57 percent. Japan’s volatile Nikkei rose 2.48 percent.
Europe took a bit of a hit today, possibly as money flowed into Asian and American exchanges. The Euro Stoxx index, which tracks 50 blue chips dropped 0.18 percent, London’s FTSE fell 0.25 percent, and France’s CAC dropped 0.22 percent.
Commodities
As equity markets moved higher, energy futures dropped on the day. At last check, WTI oil was down 1.06 percent to $109.36 with Brent down 2.2 percent to $113.56. Any news about the Syrian conflict will rock contracts either way.
Precious metals are mostly unmoved today after dropping off last week. Gold futures traded down 0.1 percent heading into the equity market close to $1,386.40. Silver futures lost 0.76 percent to fall to $23.71.
In the grain complex, corn, wheat, and cocoa took a beating today, falling 1.01 percent, one percent, and 0.39 percent, respectively.
Currencies
The Powershares ETF UUP which tracks the value of the US dollar versus a basket of foreign currencies fell half a percent today as investors moved into equity markets throughout the world.
The closely watched EUR/USD pair rose 0.62 percent to $1.3260. Other big movers on the day include the EUR/JPY, which rose 1.07 percent, and the USD/BRL which fell 1.29 percent.
Bonds
Treasuries added a little value today. The iShares ETF TLT which tracks the performance of 20 plus year government bonds was up 0.08 percent heading into the close.
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