Market Recap: Stocks Rally as U.S. Economic Data Overshadows Sovereign Debt Crisis

Markets closed up on Wall Street today:

• Dow +0.14 percent
• S&P +0.48 percent
• Nasdaq +1.09 percent
• Oil +1.31 percent
• Gold +0.19 percent

On the commodities front:

• Oil (NYSE:USO) climbed to $99.43 a barrel
• Gold (NYSE:GLD) up to $1,781.80 an ounce
• Silver (NYSE:SLV) rose 1.58 percent to settle at $34.56

(Related: NYPD Disbands Occupy Wall Street Camp Ahead of Massive City-Wide Demonstration)

Today’s markets were up because:

1) Europe: Stocks opened lower today as bonds yields in Europe climbed. While Italian bond yields have been climbing, reaching a euro-era record last week, it was the news that yields in neighboring Spain and France were also on the rise that worried investors today.

Yields on Spain’s 10-year bond have climbed to about 6.3 percent, and France’s bond yields are now around 3.67 percent.

2) U.S.: Markets gained ground in the afternoon as positive economic data in the U.S. temporarily overshadowed the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. Retail sales rose 0.5 percent in October, beating expectations (for what they were worth), while the New York manufacturing index unexpectedly returned to positive territory after five months in the red, and producer prices declined 0.3 percent in October following a 0.8 percent rise in September.

3) Nasdaq: The tech-heavy Nasdaq outperformed the S&P 500 and the Dow today as Apple, Intel, and Cypress Semiconductor Corp. climbed higher.

Berkshire Hathaway’s recent 13-F filing showed it had purchased Intel, while Cypress is riding the Halo effect of Buffet’s buy. Apple shares rebounded from losses last week as suppliers for its new “15-inch ultra-thin notebook model” started shipping components.

[Editor's note: the above is a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]