Dow ends above 13,000 as dollar jumps

NEW YORK – Wall Street shot higher Thursday as investors, while anticipating another dismal jobs report today, viewed the rising dollar and falling oil prices as promising signs for the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average soared nearly 190 points to close above 13,000 for the first time since Jan. 3.

The dollar jumped on better-than-expected economic data and the Federal Reserve’s apparent resolve to monitor inflation. The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in March, more than predicted, and the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing contracted in April by a bit less than anticipated.

The readings were not all positive – consumer spending ticked higher mainly due to rising energy and food prices. The ISM’s report also indicated that companies are hurting from climbing costs.

But the dollar, which has recently strengthened after a protracted decline, rallied anyway, pushing the euro down more than 1 percent to $1.5461 in late trading. Trading was thin, with major currency markets in London and elsewhere closed for the May Day holiday, but the dollar’s advance helped crude oil fall briefly near $110 a barrel and then settle at $112.52. That alleviated some of the inflation-related anxieties in the market, given that crude recently traded at a record near $120 a barrel.

“I don’t know if it’s all turned around, but I think oil got out of control,” said Todd Leone, managing director of equity trading at Cowen & Co.

The Dow rose 189.87, or 1.48 percent, to 13,010.00, after briefly rising more than 200 points. It hadn’t closed above 13,000 since Jan. 3, when it ended at 13,056.72; the Dow is still down 8.15 percent from its record close of 14,164.53, reached Oct. 9, 2007, before the brunt of the credit crisis hit Wall Street.

Broader stock indicators also enjoyed a significant advance Thursday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 23.75, or 1.71 percent, to 1,409.34 – its first settlement above 1,400 since Jan. 14. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 67.91, or 2.81 percent, to 2,480.71, its highest close since Jan. 10.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.60 percent. Markets in much of the world, including Europe and Hong Kong, were closed for May Day.