BizNomic

Positive industrial data pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to a fresh 18-month closing high. Energy, basic-materials, and industrial sectors were clearly winners although, investors still appeared apprehensive about the earnings season and the possible inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a gain of more than 60 points at its intraday peak, then lost steam the rest of the way, ending with a 46.48-point gain, up 0.4%, at 10973.55, the highest close since Sept. 26, 2008. Oil passed its Oct. 9, 2008 closing high, adding 2% to end at $86.62 a barrel, or the steepest since its all-time high of $147.27 barrel touched intraday in July 2008. And copper’s settlement of $3.63 a pound matched an Aug. 1, 2008 settlement, according to FactSet.  ”Quite simply, Goldilocks has come to roost on Wall Street,” wrote Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business.

The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.1%. Apple rose 1.1% after the company said it sold more than 300,000 iPads in the U.S., including pre-orders, on the first day the device was available. Best Buy, which is carrying the iPad, rose 1.9%.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, led by a a 1.6% gain in its energy sector, which was boosted by a jump in oil prices. Futures rose $1.75, or 2.1%, to settle at $86.62 a barrel in New York.

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