MARKET ROUNDUP (Source Bloomberg)

U.S. Stocks Advance on Optimism About Corporate Results; amid investors' optimism about fourth-quarter corporate earnings. The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 1,461.02 at 4 p.m. New York time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 61.66 points, or 0.5 percent, to 13,390.51. About 6.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average. Fourth-quarter profits at S&P 500 companies probably increased 2.9 percent, according to analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would be the second-slowest quarterly growth since 2009, the data show. Six out of 10 groups in the S&P 500 rose today as health- care and industrial shares had the biggest gains. Telephone and utility companies retreated the most. The Dow Jones Transportation Average climbed 1 percent to the highest level since July 2011. An S&P index of homebuilders advanced 0.9 percent to the highest since August 2007.

Oil Trades Near Three-Day Low as U.S. Crude, Fuel Supplies Rise; after a government report showed increasing U.S. crude and fuel inventories. West Texas Intermediate futures were little changed after slipping for a second day yesterday. Crude stockpiles rose 1.3 million barrels last week, the Energy Department said. They were projected to climb 2 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Gasoline supplies surged by 7.4 million barrels, almost three times as much as forecast, to a 22-month high, the report showed. Crude for February delivery was at $93.20 a barrel, up 10 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:51 a.m. Sydney time. The contract rose to $93.19 on Jan. 7, the highest settlement since Sept. 18. Prices declined 7.1 percent last year.

Jupiter Securities Research - 10 January 2013