US REPORT: Dow Jones: 8,635.42 (+259.18) SP 500: 876.07 (+30.85) Nasdaq:1,509.31 (+63.75): US STOCKS rallied, reversing an early slide, as Hartford Financial Services led a rally in insurers after increasing its profit forecast and saying it's weathering the credit crisis.
Hartford, which tumbled 92 per cent in 2008 before today, doubled and all 21 insurance companies in the SP's 500 Index advanced. Prudential and MetLife climbed more than 22 per cent as UBS said they may benefit from potential regulatory changes.
The gains helped the market overcome a morning tumble spurred by government data showing the nation lost the most jobs in 34 years last month as the recession deepened.
"The bad news is out; people know the economy's lousy," said Barry James, president of James Investment Research in Xenia, Ohio. "The market is so oversold that we're entering into what I'd call a bear-market rally."
Hartford jumped a record 102 per cent to $14.59 after the insurer raised its full-year operating profit forecast and said the capital outlook at its insurance subsidiaries is "strong".
"The company's operating businesses are performing well, particularly in light of the challenging markets," chief executive officer Ramani Ayer said.
SanDisk climbed 14 per cent to $9.23. The world's largest maker of memory cards used in digital cameras is poised to benefit from a reduction in the supply of so-called NAND semiconductors, American Technology Research said in upgrading the stock to "buy" from "neutral".
AmTech analyst Dinesh Moorjani also upgraded Micron Technology to "buy", citing falling supply. The largest US memory chip maker gained 13 per cent to $2.04, helping push an index of technology companies to the second-biggest advance in the SP 500.
The market had retreated earlier after the US Labor Department reported that the nation lost 533,000 jobs last month, 59 percent more than the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The unemployment rate rose to 6.7 per cent. General Motors fell 0.7 per cent to $4.08 after saying it will cut production at four North American plants next year. GM and rivals Ford and Chrysler are asking Congress for a $34 billion (€27 billion) bailout. - (Bloomberg)
