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发表于 18-8-2007 01:15:00|来自：美国
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<span class="news_story_title">U.S. Stocks Rally on Fed's Surprise Reduction of Discount Rate </span><br/><p>By Lynn Thomasson</p><div style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 0px;"><div id="newsphoto"><img height="162" alt="" src="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=ipgjM70anom0" width="220" border="0"/><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=ipgjM70anom0" target="_blank"><img class="photoenlarge" height="10" alt="Enlarge Image" src="http://images.bloomberg.com/r06/news/enlarge_image.gif" width="49" border="0"/></a>
<div style="CLEAR: left; MARGIN: 0px 5px 5px;">Signage at the Citigroup building </div></div></div><p>Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose the most in two weeks after the Federal Reserve unexpectedly cut its discount rate and said it stands ready to ``act as needed'' to keep credit market losses from sapping economic growth. </p><p>Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, posted its steepest advance in seven years after falling for six days. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Morgan Stanley helped financial shares to their best two-day rally since 2002. The Fed's decision to lower the interest rate on direct loans to banks by 0.5 percentage point also spurred a rebound in Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index. </p><p>``It's just a brilliant move in letting the markets know where liquidity can be found and at what cost,'' said Tim Hartzell, who helps manage about $2 billion as chief market strategist at Kanaly Trust Co. in Houston. ``It brings the banks back to the table.'' </p><p>The Standard & Poor's 500 Index surged 23.13, or 1.6 percent, to 1,434.4 as of 12:45 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 160.95, or 1.3 percent, to 13,006.73. Both measures increased the most since Aug. 6. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 36.63, or 1.5 percent, to 2,487.7. </p><p>Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rallied 2.2 percent to 359.98 after falling as much as 1 percent earlier, helped by Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's first acknowledgement that a policy shift is needed to contain the subprime-mortgage collapse. </p><p>``Financial market conditions have deteriorated, and tighter credit conditions and increased uncertainty have the potential to restrain economic growth going forward,'' the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement following an unscheduled meeting. ``The downside risks have increased appreciably.'' </p><p>Half-Point Cut </p><p>The FOMC reduced the discount rate to 5.75 percent, the first time it has cut borrowing costs between scheduled meetings since 2001. Policy makers left the overnight federal funds target rate unchanged at 5.25 percent. </p><p>In a statement, the committee said it is ``prepared to act as needed to mitigate the adverse effects on the economy arising from disruptions in financial markets.'' </p><p>The S&P 500 has tumbled 9.1 percent through yesterday from a July 19 record amid concern defaults on subprime home loans will hurt bank earnings and spur an increase in borrowing costs as investors shun riskier debt. The Dow average was down 8.3 percent from its peak. </p><p>``It shows a lot of creativity on Bernanke's part. He has a lot more options than people think,'' said Bartley Barnett, head of listed trading at Morgan Keegan Inc. in Memphis, Tennessee. ``It shows the Fed is being supportive and paying attention.'' </p><p>Fed Funds </p><p>The Fed's action bolstered speculation that the central bank will lower its benchmark federal funds lending rate on overnight loans. Goldman Sachs & Co. predicted fed funds will fall to 4.75 percent this year. </p><p>``We still expect the credit restraint and the housing downturn to push the unemployment rate up by an amount that has generally coincided with monetary easing in the past,'' Goldman said in a research note. </p><p>Consumer confidence dropped to the lowest level in a year, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan index. The gauge fell to 83.3 from 90.4 a month earlier. Economists forecast the confidence measure would fall to 88, based on the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. </p><p>Countrywide surged $1.97, or 10 percent, to $20.92 for the steepest increase among companies in the S&P 500. The biggest U.S. mortgage lender was upgraded to ``neutral'' from ``sell'' at Banc of America Securities LLC. Analysts including Robert Lacoursiere said the possibility of a ``liquidity-induced distressed sale'' is unlikely. </p><p>Thrifts Rally </p><p>The S&P 500 Thrifts & Mortgage Finance Index gained 3.8 percent, led by the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest sources of money for U.S. home loans. Fannie Mae climbed $1.91 to $67.06. Freddie Mac advanced $1.64 to $62.98. </p><p>Lehman Brothers jumped $5.63 to $57.83. Morgan Stanley added $2.64 to $61.61. Financial stocks rose 2.6 percent as a group for the biggest increase among 10 S&P 500 industry groups. </p><p>The other nine S&P 500 industries rose, led by energy, raw- material and industrial shares as investors speculated the economy's expansion is intact. </p><p>The main measure of U.S. stock volatility declined after reaching a four-year high yesterday. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, known as the VIX, slipped 0.4 percent to 30.72. Lower readings show traders expect smaller share-price swings in the next 30 days. </p><p>Hewlett-Packard Co. gained 97 cents to $47.02. The world's largest personal-computer maker forecast profit for this quarter between 80 cents and 81 cents a share, exceeding the average estimate of 78 cents a share from analysts polled by Bloomberg. </p><p>Huntington Bancshares Inc. rose 94 cents to $18.32. Ohio's fourth-largest bank said its mortgage customers were making fewer late payments even as bankruptcies and foreclosures climbed in the Midwest. The bank also said it has no subprime loans, given to borrowers considered at the highest risk of default. </p><p>Dell Inc. gained 21 cents to $26.14. The second-largest personal-computer maker completed a yearlong investigation into accounting errors and admitted executives manipulated financial results to meet quarterly earnings goals. The company said it would restate results between fiscal 2003 and the first quarter of 2007. </p><p>To contact the reporter on this story: Lynn Thomasson in New York at <span class="httplink"><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a></span> . </p><i>Last Updated: August 17, 2007 12:47 EDT</i> |
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