Monday Closing Bell: Stocks Higher as Syrian Concerns Subside

September 9, 2013: U.S. markets opened higher on Monday morning following a good report on consumer sentiment in the eurozone and a booming report on China’s trade surplus. Japan’s second-quarter GDP growth was revised up to 0.9%, which was expected. The rise in China’s trade surplus really gave U.S. markets the shot they needed to get off to a strong start this morning.

Asian and Latin American markets closed higher today, while European markets closed mixed.

WTI crude oil closed down 0.9% at $119.52 a barrel and Brent crude trades down 2.3% at $113.42 as traders mull over a possible end to the tension over Syria’s chemical arsenal.

Tuesday’s calendar includes the following data releases and events (all times Eastern):

• 7:30 a.m. – National Federation of Independent Business optimism index
• 10:00 a.m. – Job openings and labor turnover survey (JOLTS)
• 11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction
• 1:00 p.m. – 3-year note auction

Here are the closing bell levels for Monday:

• S&P500 1,671.71 (+16.54; +1.00%)
• DJIA 15,063.12 (+140.62; +0.94%)
• NASDAQ 3,706.18 (+46.17; +1.26%)
• 10YR TNOTE 2.918% (+0.156)
• Gold $1,386.70 (+0.20; flat)
• Euro/Dollar: 1.3258 (+0.0095; +0.72%)

Big Earnings Movers: Hanwha SolarOne Ltd. (NASDAQ: HSOL) is down 6.8% at $3.68. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: HOV) is up 2.2% at $5.15.

Stocks on the move: Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) is up 9.3% at $21.74 after being adding to the S&P 500 index. BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) is up 6.4% at $11.53 on reports that a former board member has nearly lined up financing to take the company private. Molex Inc. (NASDAQ: MOLX) is up 31.6% at $38.60 following an agreement to be acquired by Koch Industries Inc.

In all, 149 stocks put up new 52-week highs today, while only 21 stocks posted new lows.