By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market extended a
four-day rally Wednesday boosted by an upbeat economic outlook from
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard and positive data
from overseas.
The S&P 500 (SPX) added 6.4 points, or 0.4%, to 1,826.13,
which leaves the benchmark index only 1.2% below its all-time high
reached last month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was up 39 points, or 0.4%
at 16,032.70.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rose 20 points, or 0.5% to 4,211.48.
After the previous day's rally, the tech-heavy index turned
positive for 2014 and is now 0.8% higher for the year.
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Speaking in New York, Bullard said he sees a 3% or better growth
in 2014 and that decline in unemployment rate signals real job
gains.
The Bank of England's encouraging outlook for the U.K. economy
and stronger-than-expected Chinese trade data have aided
sentiment.
Stocks rallied during the previous session after Federal Reserve
Chairwoman Janet Yellen pledged to keep interest rates low and said
the Fed would continue to taper the pace of bond purchases if the
economy keeps improving.
Among corporates, Deere(DE) shares initially rose after the farm
machinery maker reported first-quarter earnings, which beat
forecasts. But shares fell 1% shortly after the market open.
Shares of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc.(DVA) rose 7.4% after
late Tuesday reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results
and posting an update profit outlook for 2014.
Cisco (CSCO) will report after the market close and analysts
expect second-quarter earnings of 46 cents a share. Shares were
unchanged on Wednesday.
In other markets, European stocks rose for a sixth-straight
session, while the British pound rose against the dollar after the
Bank of England raised its forecast for U.K. economic growth in
2014 to 3.4%, from a prior forecast of 2.8%. The central bank also
signalled it won't hike rates until 2015 because there is too much
spare capacity in the labor market.
The Chinese data triggered losses for the Aussie dollar against
the U.S. dollar (AUDUSD), while gold (GCH4) continued its upward
march building on a 7% rise so far this year. Oil(CLH4) recaptured
the $100 mark after a below-expectations rise in crude supplies in
data released Tuesday.
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