LONDON: US stocks rose, driving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the best weekly gain of the year, while the euro fell as investors awaited talks among European finance officials for news of a potential bailout of Spain.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.8% to 1,325.66 at 4 p.m. New York time, extending its rally this week to 3.7%.
Oil recovered most of a 3.3% plunge and the S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities slipped 0.7% after sinking as much as 2.4%.
The euro weakened 0.5 percent to US$1.25 after Spain’s credit ranking was cut three steps by Fitch Ratings yesterday. The 10-year Treasury yield lost less than one basis point to 1.63 percent after declining as much as eight points.
Spain is poised to become the fourth of the 17 euro-area countries to require emergency assistance as the currency bloc’s finance chiefs plan weekend talks on a potential aid request to shore up the nation’s lenders.
“The risk-on trade emerged,” said Walter “Bucky” Hellwig, who helps manage $17 billion at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. “There’s more of a conviction that something is going to happen with Spanish banks that’s going to be positive.” (Bloomberg/tw)
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