Wall Street edged above the line only minutes before the end of a choppy session, adding to what has been a significant rally over the past two weeks. The Dow and S&P 500 have both climbed more than 11% in this time on the back of better than anticipated quarterly earnings results.
In economic news, new home sales rose from 346,000 in May to 384,000 in June, which was ahead of economist's expectations. Sales were down 28% on a year ago.
The Dow Jones rose 15.27 points, or 0.17%, to 9,108.51, the S&P's 500 gained 2.92 points, or 0.30%, to 982.18 and the NASDAQ picked up 1.93 points, or 0.10%, to 1,967.89.
Financials were mixed with Bank of America and Wells Fargo the best performers with gains of 4.6% and 3.2%. JPMorgan added 0.6%.
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs slid 1.5%, 0.7% and 0.5% respectively.
American Express shed 3.8%.
Tech stocks finished the day lower. Microsoft, Novell and Oracle lost 1.5%, 1.2% and 1.6% respectively.
Yahoo! and Google slid 2.8% and 0.4%, while Apple and Hewlett-Packard bucked the trend by adding 0.1% and 0.3%.
Of the companies that reported results, Verizon Communications slipped 1.6% after meeting estimates, however the company also revealed it would be cutting 8,000 jobs in its wireline business.
Diversified technology and manufacturing company Honeywell put on 0.7% after reporting earnings that met estimates and revenue that was lower than anticipated.
Home-builders jumped on the positive housing data. Centex and Lennar surged 9.1% and 6.8%.
Energy stocks were higher as the price of crude continued its climb back towards the US$70 a barrel mark. ConocoPhillips advanced 0.7%, while Exxon Mobil and Chevron were both 0.6% stronger.
Aluminium producer Alcoa gained 2.5%.
NYMEX light crude oil for September delivery rose US33 cents to settle at US$68.38 a barrel.
COMEX gold for August delivery rose US40 cents to US$954.20 an ounce.
European Markets
European markets rose as investors were buoyed by positive company earnings and economic data out of the US. Financials and commodity stocks led the rally as automakers struggled.
The UK benchmark FTSE 100 gained 9.52, or 0.21% to 4,586.13. The German DAX put on 22.19, or 0.42% to 5,251.55, while the French CAC40 added 5.91, or 0.18% to 3,372.36.
Deutsche Bank was 2.2% stronger on reports the German bank is set to release a positive second quarter result on Tuesday. Commerzbank climbed 5.8%.
Lloyds surged 6.9%, while UK peer Royal Bank of Scotland jumped 4.2%. Barclays sank 3.5%.
Societe Generale and BNP Paribas made modest gains of 0.7% and 0.1%.
Insurers AXA, Allianz and Prudential rose 1.9%, 1% and 0.8%.
Energy stocks were among the biggest winners of the day. BP, BG Group and Royal Dutch Shell advanced 1.6%, 0.8% and 1.2% respectively.
Total added 0.7%.
Miners tracked the metals prices higher. Antofagasta, Xstrata and Anglo America put on 2.3%, 1.4% and 0.5%.
Aussie miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton gained 0.9% and 1.5%.
Automaker Porsche sank slumped 11.4% on reports Volkswagen is considering a capital increase to offset the credit rating impact of their merger. Volkswagen shed 1.9%.
Rexam sank 12.1% after the UK beverage-can maker revealed it is contemplating raising further capital.
Japanese Markets
Japan’s Nikkei rose for the ninth consecutive day, making it the longest streak in positive territory in 21 years. Brokerages led the rally as the market awaits the release of a slew of reports later in the week.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 added 144.11 points, or 1.45%, to 10,088.66.
Brokerages Nomura Holdings and Daiwa put on 3.1% and 4.5% on optimism they could report profits for the last quarter.
Electronics maker Nidec rose 3.5% after increasing its first half earnings target. Sony slid 0.2%.
Shippers Nippon Yusen K.K. and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha dipped 4.6% and 4% after lowering their annual forecasts.
Manufacturer Hitachi jumped 3.4% on reports it will buy five affiliates. Car stereo maker Clarion soared 14% as it is two-thirds owned by Hitachi.
Hong Kong Markets
The Hang Seng rallied again Monday to crash through the 20,000 point barrier. Continuing improvements in key economic indicators across the globe was the driver for investor optimism.
The Hang Seng put on 268.83, or 1.35% to 20,251.62.
The market has rallied nearly 80% from March lows.
Among finance stocks, Bank of China rallied 1.8%, ICBC rose 1.3%, while HSBC shed 1%.
China Mobile as a standout with the number one mobile phone carrier by subscribers, rallied 4.2%.
Cnooc, China’s biggest offshore oil producer, put on 1%.
Orient Overseas International, Hong Kong’s largest container carrier, jumped 8.6% on a broker upgrade, while China Shipping Container Lines Co., the country’s second- biggest container carrier, spiked 15% for the same reason.
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