Stocks surge in the face of mixed data

Bloomberg reports the strong gains made by US stock markets yesterday, putting the February-March sell-off behind them.

The S&P 500 added 15.62, or 1.1 percent, to 1468.47, its highest since September 2000. All 10 industry groups advanced today, bringing the benchmark's gain in April to 3.4 percent.

The Dow industrials rose 108.33, or 0.9 percent, to 12,720.46. The 30-stock gauge is 0.5 percent shy of matching its record close set Feb. 20. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 26.39, or 1.1 percent, to 2518.33, its highest since Feb. 22.

It was a similar story for Europe and for Asia earlier in the day.

The economic reports yesterday were only mixed though. US retail sales increased 0.7 percent in March and February sales were revised higher to a 0.5 percent gain from 0.1 percent previously reported but the housing market remains in the doldrums, with the Wells Fargo/NAHB housing-market index falling from 36 in March to 33 in April, the lowest level since December.

Earlier yesterday, Japan reported that its industrial output for February had been revised to a gain of 0.7 percent from an initial estimate of a decline of 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, Europe has inflation concerns again. Inflation in the euro area accelerated in March to 1.9 percent from 1.8 percent in February while the UK faces an acceleration in producer prices and house prices.