Nasdaq hits fresh high overnight

Michael Pistillo, Jr., left, with Barclays and Tommy Kalikas with Livermore Trading Group follow stock prices at the New York Stock Exchange. File photo / AP

Wall Street was up overnight and headed towards fresh record highs amid optimism about US corporate earnings.

Morgan Stanley was the latest company to post stronger than expected quarterly earnings. Its shares last traded 0.3 percent weaker.

"The quarter (for Morgan Stanley) looked really good, uncomplicated and straightforward across all the board, which is what really stood out," Marian Kessler, co-portfolio manager of the Becker Value Equity Fund in Portland, Oregon, told Reuters.

In late afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.18 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.24 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.38 percent. The Nasdaq hit a record high 5,231.94, while the S&P 500 traded above its previous closing record high.

Gains in shares of Visa and those of Apple, last trading 2.7 percent and 2.4 percent stronger respectively, propelled the Dow higher.

Companies reporting earnings on Monday include IBM.

Of the companies that have reported earnings so far, 70 percent have reported earnings above analyst expectations, according to Reuters. Earnings are expected to show a decline of 2.1 percent for the quarter.

Optimism about the US economic outlook has led Morgan Stanley's chief US strategist Adam Parker to forecast a 10 percent rally in the S&P 500, adding to positive sentiment.
For commodities though it was another tough session. Crude slid below $50 a barrel in New York for the first time in more than three months amid concern an increase in Iranian exports will exacerbate worldwide excess supply.

Gold weakened, dropping to the lowest level in five years, triggered by selling in Shanghai on Monday and a lack of liquidity.

And the outlook is not much better for the precious metal, with the US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's repeated comments that she expects the central bank to lift interest rates this year.

"Any increase in US interest rates should further strengthen the dollar, prompting more fund outflows from commodities, metals and emerging-market assets," Vattana Vongseenin, the chief executive officer of Phillip Asset Management in Bangkok, told Bloomberg.

Spot gold fell more than 4 percent to as low as US$1,088.05, though recovered to trade above US$1,100 recently. Shares of gold mining companies including Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining plunged as a result, each down more than 10 percent.

"We have breached significant support levels, we know US rate hikes are coming, there is no inflation and there is no catalyst to hold gold when other markets are doing better," Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar told Reuters.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index ended the day with a 0.3 percent increase from the previous close. The UK's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.2 percent, France's CAC 40 rose 0.4 percent, while Germany's DAX climbed 0.5 percent.

At least for now concerns over Greece's fiscal future have abated. As expected local banks there reopened on Monday.