NEW YORK - Wall St gains strength, Nasdaq near its 10-year high

NEW YORK - Wall St gains strength, Nasdaq near its 10-year high

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks edged up on Thursday, erasing early losses as investors brushed off disappointing economic data and bet on a further rally in equities.

The gains came after major indexes hit multi-year highs in the previous session. The enthusiasm in the market had pushed the Nasdaq to a 10-year high, and the Dow is now up 10 percent and the S&P 500 up 8 percent for the year.

Stocks were pressured at the open after a report showed new U.S. claims for unemployment benefits surprisingly rose last week to their highest level since January.

Separate data showed U.S. economic growth slowed more than forecast in the first three months of the year as higher food and gasoline prices dampened consumer spending and sent a broad measure of inflation rising at its fastest pace in 2-1/2 years.

"Investors are willing to look through the GDP data because most of the weakness was beyond the consumer... If you really just look at the organic power of the consumer, for the most part it is remarkable to me that spending is as strong as it is in the face of $4 gasoline prices," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was up 38.79 points, or 0.31 percent, at 12,729.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was up 2.33 points, or 0.17 percent, at 1,357.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was down 1.44 points, or 0.05 percent, at 2,868.44.

The Nasdaq jumped to a 10-year high on Wednesday as Wall Street rallied on the prospect of continued low interest rates and liquidity until the end of June.

Earnings season has been strong, but there were signs of creeping costs from some companies. Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) lowered the high end of its profit forecast as it trimmed expenses and increased prices to offset rising materials costs. Its shares fell 0.5 percent to $65.22.

"These consumer products (companies) are bearing most of the brunt from the higher commodity prices, because not only are commodities in general hurting costs, but high energy, in particular gasoline, is crimping demand as their consumers are forced to economize," Ablin said.

Rising costs were also in evidence at Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) . The company warned on Wednesday that costs will take a bigger chunk out of earnings than previously anticipated, and its full-year forecast disappointed Wall Street. The shares fell 0.5 percent to $36.98.

Other economic data showed pending sales of existing U.S. homes were much stronger than expected in March, offering faint glimmers of hope for the depressed U.S. housing market.

Home builder Pulte Group Inc (PHM.N) reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, and its shares rose 4.2 percent to $8.32.

(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

LONDON/NEW YORK - Exxon, Shell profits surge on higher oil prices

LONDON/NEW YORK - Exxon, Shell profits surge on higher oil prices

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc posted steep jumps in first-quarter profits and beat analysts' forecasts, helped by high oil prices and buoyant refining margins.

Profits for the world's biggest oil producers have surged as oil prices moved above $100 per barrel in the first quarter on unrest in the Middle East and Africa and growing global demand for energy.

Exxon, the world's largest publicly listed company, posted a 69 percent increase in earnings to $10.65 billion, its biggest profit since the third-quarter of 2008, when oil prices last traded above $100 per barrel.

The company was alone among its Western peers to so far record an increase in production in the quarter, notching up a 10 percent increase from a year-earlier to 4.82 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), helped by its takeover of U.S. natural gas company XTO last year.

Shell's earnings rose 22 percent to $6.9 billion, although asset sales pressured its oil and gas output down 3 percent 3.50 million boepd.

Still, that decline was more modest than the 11 percent drop that BP Plc reported on Wednesday and 7 percent drop in ConocoPhillips's output.

BP has been selling assets to pay the more than $40 billion in liabilities it racked up from the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year, while Conoco had been shedding assets to pare its debt load.

GAS BUBBLES UP

Shell, the largest shipper of liquefied natural gas, also benefited from higher LNG prices following the Japanese earthquake, which was expected to lead to higher LNG demand in that country as nuclear power is scaled back.

That LNG strength, plus a number of large projects coming on stream this year, sparked hopes that Shell could join Exxon and Chevron in raising its dividend payments to shareholders.

Exxon raised its second-quarter payout 7 percent on Wednesday, while Chevron, while boosted its dividend 8 percent.

Chevron is due to release its quarterly earnings on Friday.

Fatter profit margins at both Exxon and Shell refineries that process crude oil into products such as gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel also helped their quarterly earnings.

Exxon also benefited from a jump in earnings from its chemicals arm, which recorded $1.5 billion in profits in the quarter. The company is the second largest U.S. chemicals maker behind Dow Chemical.

"It looks like chemical was really strong," Phil Weiss, oil analyst at Argus Research, said about Exxon's earnings. "And production came in on the higher side relative to my expectations, especially gas."

Shares in Shell rose 0.7 percent to 2325.5 pence on the London Stock Exchange, while Exxon shares were off 0.5 percent to $87.35 on the New York Stock Exchange.

U.S. oil and gas companies Apache Corp and Occidental Petroleum Corp both reported earnings that topped Wall Street forecasts, lifting their share prices.

(Additional reporting by Marie Maitre in Paris, Anna Driver in Houston and Braden Reddall in San Francisco)

(Reporting by Matt Daily; editing by Gunna Dickson)

NEW YORK - Wall Street near session highs on Fed chief's view

 NEW YORK - Wall Street near session highs on Fed chief's view

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks extended gains on Wednesday, with the S&P and the Nasdaq near session highs after the Federal Reserve signaled it was willing to maintain its extensive support for the U.S. economy and corporate earnings continued to impress.

The Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement it intends to complete its $600 billion bond buying program in June as scheduled.

"The tweaks in the QE2 language strongly suggest they are going to continue not only with QE2 but reinvesting mortgage cash flows," said Max Bublitz, chief investment strategist at SCM Advisors in San Francisco.

"I don't think anybody thinks this is going to be the highlight of the day," Bublitz said of the FOMC's statement. "It is the press conference."

Market gains were limited, however, as investors dissected comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is holding his first-ever press conference.

General Electric led the Dow higher, rising 3.1 percent to $20.73 after the company's finance chief said the company's profit growth over the next few years will be the fastest it had seen in a decade.

Boeing Co (BA.N), Whirlpool Corp (WHR.N) and WellPoint Inc (WLP.N) also moved higher after topping analyst consensus expectations. Boeing, a Dow component, rose 0.8 percent to $76.17.

Whirlpool gained 0.3 percent to $88.14 and WellPoint added nearly 3 percent to $75.12.

According to Thomson Reuters data through Wednesday, of the 220 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings, 73 percent have posted earnings above estimates.

The run of solid earnings has lifted the S&P 500 to levels not seen in nearly three years, with the index breaking through a key resistance level of 1,344 on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 56.76 points, or 0.45 percent, to 12,652.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) gained 2.68 points, or 0.20 percent, to 1,349.92, close to its session high at 1,350.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) gained 8.08 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,855.62, just a touch off its session high.

Earlier, the Dow climbed as high intraday as 12,655.31.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Jan Paschal)

WASHINGTON - Durable goods data shows manufacturing sturdy

WASHINGTON - Durable goods data shows manufacturing sturdy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A key gauge of U.S. manufacturing rose in March and new orders in February were stronger than initially thought, indicating a vibrant factory sector even as the economy slowed in the first quarter.

New orders for manufactured goods meant to last at least three years increased 2.5 percent after an upwardly revised 0.7 percent rise in February, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

The rise in March durable goods orders beat economists' expectations for a 2 percent advance, while orders in February had been previously reported to have dropped 0.6 percent,

Though the report -- which showed upward revisions to key categories in February -- did not change views that the economy slowed sharply in the first three months of this year, it confirmed that manufacturing continued to power the recovery.

"It's fairly evident that the industrial sector of the U.S. economy is the growth driver and continues to be," said Neil Dutta, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York.

The recovery lost a step in the first three months of the year as harsh winter weather restrained activity and high gasoline and food prices weighed on consumer spending.

Government data on Thursday is expected to show growth slowed to an annualized rate of 2.0 percent or even less in the first quarter, according to a Reuters survey. The economy grew at a sturdy 3.1 percent rate in the fourth quarter.

The slowdown in first-quarter growth was acknowledged by Federal Reserve officials who at the end of a two-day meeting on Wednesday described the recovery as proceeding at a "moderate pace" -- a slight step back from a statement in March when it said the economy was on a firmer footing.

The Fed signaled it was in no rush to scale back the massive support it has given the economy.

Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods last month were buoyed by bookings for motor vehicles, transportation equipment and aircraft.

Excluding transportation, orders rose 1.3 percent after a revised 0.6 percent gain in February, which was previously reported as a 0.3 percent drop. Economists had expected this category to rise 1.8 percent.

The fairly strong manufacturing tone was captured by leading home appliance maker Whirlpool Corp, which reported a rise in first-quarter net profit rose to $169 million from $164 million a year earlier.

Manufacturing has been central to the economy's recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s, even though it constitutes less than 15 percent of economic activity.

A weaker dollar, which hit a three-year low against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, is helping the sector.

The durable goods report showed non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, rose 3.7 percent last month after an upwardly revised 0.5 percent gain in February.

"Concerns over capital spending triggered by weakness in the first month of the quarter prove unfounded," said Michelle Girard, an economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut. "There is no indication that capital spending plans are being substantially curtailed."

Shipments of non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft rose 2.2 percent after advancing 0.4 percent in February. This component goes into the calculation of the government's measure of gross domestic product.

Orders for primary metals rose 3.9 percent in March, while machinery orders jumped 4.2 percent. However, orders for computers and electronic products fell, as did orders for communications equipment.

While it was too early for potential supply disruptions from the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan to show in the March report, analysts expect the impact on the U.S. economy to be minimal.

(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

NEW YORK - BP, Conoco profits disappoint as output sags

NEW YORK - BP, Conoco profits disappoint as output sags

NEW YORK (Reuters) – BP Plc (BP.L) and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) reported disappointing quarterly profits on Wednesday as the big oil companies' crude oil production fell, offsetting the windfall from soaring energy prices.

BP's profits slipped 2 percent from a year ago as costs related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year continued to take a toll, while Conoco's output suffered from the conflict in Libya and pipeline problems in North America.

Crude oil prices rose nearly 40 percent in the quarter from the previous year, and margins to turn oil into gasoline and diesel have fattened, raising expectations that world's biggest oil companies would see profits skyrocket.

BP shares traded in New York fell less than 1 percent, while Conoco shares were down 2.7 percent.

"Energy stocks in general are off today. The sector has been one of the better-performing groups, so I think people are taking the opportunity to take a few profits," said Mike Breard, oil analyst at Hodges Capital in Dallas.

BP's oil and gas production tumbled 11 percent as it sold assets to pay the billions of dollars in liability it faces for the April 2010 oil spill at its Macondo well.

BP's first-quarter profit fell 2 percent while Conoco's profit rose 44 percent. Results at both companies fell short of analysts' forecasts.

LIBYA HURTS

Conoco and Italy's oil and gas group Eni (ENI.MI) said lost production because of the turmoil in Libya would cut into the year's output.

Houston-based Conoco recorded a 7 percent decline in oil and gas output to 1.7 million barrels oil equivalent (BOE) per day because the of Libya shutdown and the outage of the Trans Alaska Pipeline system in January, as well as its own asset sales.

With no end in sight for the unrest in Libya, Conoco lowered its current production outlook by as much as 50,000 BOE per day. The company could not provide any details about the state of its operations in that country.

"We just don't have communication channels," Chief Financial Officer Jeff Sheets told Reuters.

In Libya, Conoco holds a 16.3 interest in the Waha concessions, where net oil production averaged 46,000 barrels per day last year.

Eni (ENI.MI) said the Libyan turmoil would cut its full-year production after a drop of nearly 9 percent in the first quarter.

Since April, production in Libya has been about 50,000 to 55,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), down from the 280,000 boepd expected before the uprising against leader Muammar Gaddafi erupted in February, Eni said.

Eni's adjusted net profit rose nearly 22 percent, topping analysts' forecasts and lifting the company's shares about 1.7 percent.

Shares of U.S.-based oil and gas producer and refiner Hess Corp (HES.N) rose more than 5 percent before pulling back after the company said a key prospect in Ghana had shown significant resources.

Analysts were awaiting news of Hess' drilling program at the Paradise offshore prospect, and the discovery overshadowed a lower-than-expected 73 percent rise in first quarter profits.

"They've gone for a little while without a big discovery," said Stephen Davis, associate portfolio manager with Alpine Mutual Funds. "It's nice to see the exploration program back on track."

Exxon (XOM.N), the world's largest publicly traded oil company, is due to report earnings on Thursday.

(Additional reporting by Stephen Jewkes in Milan, Tom Bergin in London and Anna Driver in Houston. Editing by Derek Caney and Robert MacMillan)

LONDON - FTSE closes higher after break

LONDON - FTSE closes higher after break

LONDON (AFP) – London shares closed higher on Tuesday, extending last week's gains after the Easter break, with technology and banking shares offsetting mining losses.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 0.85 percent to finish at 6,069.36 points -- its highest level in over two months.

Vodafone Group was the most traded stock, seeing 90.6 million shares change hands, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with 56 million.

The biggest blue chip riser was International Consolidated Airlines, which jumped 4.51 percent -- 9.9 pence -- to 229.6, followed by technology company ARM Holdings, which climbed 3.39 percent -- 20.5 pence -- to 625.5.

The biggest faller of the day was gold miner Randgold Resources Ltd, which dropped 2.07 percent --110 pence -- to 5,195, followed by TUI travel, which slumped 1.17 percent -- 2.8 pence -- to 236.1.

At 1710 BST the pound was trading at 1.647 dollars, while the UK currency stood at 1.126 euros.

SINGAPORE - Aussie dollar hits 29-year peak; Seoul shares shine

SINGAPORE - Aussie dollar hits 29-year peak; Seoul shares shine

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Australian dollar hit a fresh 29-year high and South Korea's benchmark share index touched another record intraday high on Monday, suggesting investors were still eager to embrace risk and higher-yielding assets.

Commodities pushed higher with spot gold hitting a record high of $1,517.71 an ounce and U.S. silver futures scaling a 31-year peak.

The dollar edged up 0.1 percent against a basket of currencies to 74.086 (.DXY), but remained within sight of a trough of 73.735 struck last week, its lowest since August 2008.

The dollar rose 0.4 percent against the yen to 82.22 yen, supported by dollar-buying by Japanese importers and as traders took aim at stop-loss dollar buying orders said to be lurking near 82.50 yen.

"The market is thin today because London is closed today, and people are basically just trying to trigger stops," said a trader at a Japanese bank, referring to Easter Monday holidays across much of Europe.

Markets are looking to a news conference by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday after the bank's two-day policy meeting to see how the central bank plans to exit from its super-easy monetary policy.

Traders are also nervously watching Greece after newspaper reports that it is considering extending maturities on its sovereign debt as one option for a possible restructuring.

Most Asian stock markets were sluggish as they reopened after the long Easter weekend, but South Korea's benchmark stock index clawed above a peak scaled last week and hit another record intraday high. The benchmark index was last up 0.9 percent at 2,217.59 (.KS11).

Japan's benchmark Nikkei share average dipped 0.1 percent (.N225), but gains in shippers helped temper losses.

Japan's Nikkei business daily reported at the weekend that earnings sharply rebounded at three major marine transport companies in the year that ended on March 31.

Mitsui OSK Lines (9104.T) rose 2 percent, Nippon Yusen (9101.T) gained 1.3 percent and Kawasaki Kisen (9107.T) added 0.7 percent.

"The shippers' gains are straightforward. The expectations for good results reflect strong demand in the global economy and they suffered relatively little damage from the March earthquake," said Naoki Fujiwara, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management.

The Australian dollar, which tends to attract buying when the global economy is doing well and commodity prices rise, touched a 29-year high of $1.0777. It later trimmed its gains to stand at $1.0735, little changed on the day.

U.S. crude futures oil rose as violence in Syria and Yemen escalated over the weekend, stirring fears of supply disruptions from the Middle East and North Africa.

NYMEX crude for June delivery edged up 30 cents a barrel to $112.59.

U.S. 10-year Treasuries were little changed in price to yield 3.396 percent, down about 1 basis point from late U.S. trade on Thursday. The U.S. Treasury market was closed on Friday for a U.S. holiday.

Stock markets in Australia and Hong Kong were closed on Monday for a holiday. (Additional reporting by Ayai Tomisawa and Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Editing by Kim Coghill.)