US stocks rallied yesterday, with the S&P 500 at a record high, as fears of a confrontation between Russia and Ukraine eased and Russian President Vladimir Putin said there was no need to use military force in the Crimea region for now.Putin also ordered troops involved in a military exercise near the Ukrainian border back to their bases as he sought to ease tensions a day after Russian stocks, bonds and currency were hammered.
Investors' flight to safety was reversed yesterday, with global stocks higher while gold, the Japanese yen and Treasuries prices fell. Crude oil prices, up more than two per cent on Monday on Russia's standing as top exporter, reversed some of last session's gain."In the short term, the market always over reacts," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh."We got marginally good news today but we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow."
Forrest said she expects volatility to return to the market as the situation in Ukraine remains fluid.The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 192.01 points or 1.19 per cent, to 16,360.04, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 24.33 points or 1.32 per cent, to 1,870.06 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 71.772 points or 1.68 per cent, to 4,349.073.The S&P hit an intraday record of 1,871.44 while the Nasdaq Composite touched a 14-year high.
Disney shares hit a record high after reaching a deal with Dish Network that allows the No 2 satellite television provider to carry Disney-owned networks such as ABC and ESPN, and deliver the content outside of a traditional television subscription. Disney shares were last up 3.1 per cent at US$81.96 after earlier hitting US$82.17.Qualcomm Inc rose four per cent to US$76.54.
Reuters