Dow up 85 as tech gains boost stocks

Updated: 6:49 p.m. ET

Stocks surged higher today thanks to more evidence of recovering jobs and strength in technology stocks on the heels of strong earnings from Red Hat (RHT) and Micron Technologies (MU).

Gold, silver and crude oil began the day by pushing higher on continuing uncertainty in Libya, Japan and Portugal. But profit-taking and a boost in margin requirements on silver trading pushed the metals lower. Crude also fell back.

Shares of Research In Motion (RIMM) were sharply lower after hours after guidance disappointed investors. Oracle (ORCL) shares were little changed even as results beat estimates.

The Dow Jones industrials ($INDU) closed up 85 points, or 0.7%, to 12,171. The blue chips had been up as many as 105 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) was up 12 points, or 0.9%, to 1,310, and the Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) added 38 points, or 1.4%, to 2,736.

The gains were the fifth in six sessions, and the major indexes have regained all of their losses since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  The Dow is still down 1.8% from its Feb. 18 peak, with the S&P 500 off 2.5% and the Nasdaq down 3.4%.

Stocks look to open modestly higher on Friday. The government will report on the latest estimate for fourth-quarter gross domestic product. The University of Michigan will issue its final estimate of consumer confidence for March.

Research In Motion results dismay Street
Research In Motion shares tumbled 11.8% to $56.51 after hours as its guidance for the fiscal first quarter came in lower than expected. The company cited lower average selling prices for its BlackBerry devices and higher research and development and market costs for its new PlayBook tablet and operating platforms.

The company earned $1.78 a share on revenue of $5.56 billion. The earnings beat Street estimates of $1.76 a share but were slightly lower than the revenue estimate of $5.64 billion. Earnings were up 40% from a year ago; revenue was up 36%.

Oracle said it had earned 54 cents a share in the fiscal third quarter on revenue of $8.76 billion. Both beat Street estimates of 50 cents and $8.67 billion. The company also boosted its dividend 20% to 6 cents a share.

Oracle was up 2.3% to $32.14 in regular trading and had risen to $32.86 after hours.

Energy prices -- New York close
			Thur.			Wed.			Month chg.			YTD chg.
Crude oil			$105.60			$105.75			8.90%			15.56%
(per barrel)
Heating oil			$3.0620			$3.0550			4.00%			20.38%
(per gallon)
Natural gas			$4.2440			$4.3350			4.84%			-3.65%
(per mil. BTU)
Unleaded gasoline			$3.0448			$3.0213			4.84%			-3.65%
(per gallon)
Brent crude			$115.72			$115.55			3.51%			22.11%
(per barrel)
Retail gasoline			$3.5510			$3.5480			5.43%			15.59%
(per gallon; AAA)

Gold and silver push up, then drop back
Gold had reached $1,446.90 an ounce but fell back to settle at $1434.90 an ounce, down $3.10 from Wednesday. Silver climbed to as high as $38.045 an ounce before falling back and settling at $37.36. That's still a gain of nearly 18 cents. One reason silver fell back was that the CME Group boosted margin requirements by 5% to keep a lid on speculation.

Crude oil topped $106 before selling hit the market. Crude settled at $105.60 a barrel, down 15 cents. It was trading electronically at $105.18, down 57 cents from Wednesday, at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Interest rates were higher, with the 10-year Treasury yield reaching 3.404%, up from Wednesday's 3.348%. The dollar was lower against major currencies.

There was modestly good news on the jobs front. New jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 382,000 in the week ended March 19, Labor Department figures showed. The total number of people receiving benefits dropped to the lowest level in almost three years.

On the other hand, a Commerce Department report showed that orders for long-lasting goods unexpectedly fell 0.9% in February, reflecting declines in demand for capital goods and military aircraft. The decline came after a 3.9% gain in January.

A big day for techs
Technology stocks -- especially big tech stocks -- ruled today's market. The Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX.X), which tracks the largest Nasdaq shares, was up 42 points, or 1.8%, to 2,312.

Micron, the biggest U.S. producer of computer-memory chips, rose 8.4% to $11.50, tops among Nasdaq-100  stocks, and Linux-software maker Red Hat surged 18.2% to $47.26 after earnings beat analysts’ estimates.

GameStop (GME) jumped 2.9% to $21.73. The video-game retailer forecast profit that topped analysts' projections.

Amazon.com (AMZN) gained 3.5% to $171.10 after William Blair & Co. analyst Mark Miller raised his rating for the online retailer to "outperform." He downgraded Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Target (TGT) to "market perform." Wal-Mart, nonetheless, was up 1.8% to $52.59. Target rose 0.7% to $50.61.

Nvidia (NVDA) was up 8% to $19.23, second-best among Nasdaq-100 stocks after Micron. Gains for Apple (AAPL), Qualcomm (QCOM), Amazon.com, Oracle and Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) contributed more than 15 points of the Nasdaq-100's gain.

Drugstore.com (DSCM) jumped 113% to $3.82. The online pharmacy business agreed to be bought by Walgreen for $3.80 a share, or $409 million, in cash. The acquisition will help Walgreen expand its online business. Walgreen rose 0.3% to $39.95.

Shares of Best Buy (BBY), meanwhile, were down 5.4% to $30.13 despite beating estimates on fiscal earnings for the fourth quarter. But the electronics retailer said a slack economy would trim earnings in the 2011-12 fiscal year. The company forecast earnings of $3.30 to $3.55 a share. The consensus Street estimate has been $3.55. Best Buy also said it plans to trim its offerings at its stores.

Earthquake may trim global auto production
Parts shortages caused by Japan’s record earthquake may reduce global automobile production by about 30%, research firm IHS Automotive said today.

If parts plants affected by the quake don’t return to operation within six weeks, global auto output may drop as much as 100,000 vehicles a day, said analyst Michael Robinet. The industry produces 280,000 to 300,000 vehicles daily, he said.

"Most vehicle manufacturers will be affected by this," Robinet told Bloomberg News. "It will be very difficult for any major automaker to escape this disaster."

About 13% of global auto industry production is down and production of about 320,000 vehicles has been lost, mostly in Japan, Robinet said.

General Motors (GM) has been forced to trim production at plants at Shreveport, La., and Lockport, N.Y., because of parts shortages.

Toyota (TM) told its U.S. employees to expect production cutbacks. However, the company expects to resume production of its Prius hybrids next week.

Honda (HMC), however, won't resume production of cars in Japan until April 3.

Global stocks see some gains
Global stocks traded mostly higher despite continued worries about Japan's efforts to contain its nuclear crisis. Stores in Tokyo have started to ration bottled water and other items after hazardous levels of radiation were detected in Japanese tap water, milk and vegetables.

 

In Libya, allied forces continued to pound troops loyal to the country’s embattled dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. 

Portugal’s Parliament rejected the government’s austerity plan on Wednesday, prompting the resignation of its prime minister, Jose Socrates, and increasing the likelihood that the country will seek a rescue package similar to those granted to Greece and Ireland.

 

European Union leaders were meeting in Brussels today and Friday to discuss improvements to economic policy for the 17 countries that use the euro.

Japan shares move lower

Japanese shares slipped today, with a sell-off in Tokyo Electric Power and financial firms weighing on the market as radiation leaks from a quake-stricken nuclear plant stifled any optimism on the global economy.

Analysts told Reuters that the problems at the troubled Fukushima Dai Ichi power station  remain the key focus for investors.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Index ($JP:N225) fell 14 points to 9,435. Futures trading suggests a flat open when the Japanese stock market opens on Friday.

Short hits from the markets -- New York close
			Thur.			Wed.			Month chg.			YTD chg.
Treasury yields
13-week Treasury bill			0.080%			0.090%			-42.86%			-33.33%
5-year Treasury note			2.113%			2.046%			-1.12%			4.81%
10-year Treasury note			3.404%			3.348%			-0.29%			3.00%
30-year Treasury bond			4.470%			4.448%			-0.45%			2.48%
Currencies
U.S. Dollar Index			75.888			76.046			-1.34%			-4.29%
British pound			$1.6119			$1.6250			-1.00%			3.29%
(in U.S. $)
U.S. $ in pounds			£0.620			£0.615			1.01%			-3.18%
Euro in dollars			$1.419			$1.410			2.63%			6.06%
(in U.S. $)
U.S. $ in euros			€ 0.705			€ 0.709			-2.56%			-5.71%
U.S. $ in yen			81.103			80.920			-1.22%			-0.32%
U.S. $ in Chinese			6.584			6.554			-0.13%			-0.47%
yuan
Canada dollar			$1.025			$1.020			-0.50%			2.12%
(in U.S. $)
U.S. dollar			$0.977			$0.981			0.51%			-2.07%
(in Canadian $)
Commodities
Gold			$1,434.90			$1,438.00			1.46%			0.95%
(per troy ounce)
Copper			$4.425			$4.429			-1.02%			-0.51%
(per pound)
Silver			$37.375			$37.198			10.14%			20.81%
(per troy ounce)
Wheat			$7.3950			$7.1425			-9.76%			-6.89%
(per bushel)
Corn			$7.0250			$6.8100			-3.90%			12.85%
(per bushel)
Cotton			$2.0882			$2.0187			1.79%			44.20%
(per pound)
Crude oil			$105.60			$105.75			8.90%			15.56%
(per barrel)