US Stocks Add To Gains As Energy, Consumer Discretionary Rise

• By Donna Kardos Yesalavich     Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES   

  NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- U.S. stocks moved higher Monday, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average back above the psychologically important 10000 level as higher oil prices boosted the energy sector and better-than-expected sales out of RadioShack lifted consumer-discretonary stocks.

  The tech sector was also riding high after Marvell Technology raised its revenue guidance for the latest quarter.

  The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently up 93 points, or 0.9%, at 10065. Microsoft rose 3.3%, gaining with a number of the Dow's other tech components following the Marvell news. Marvell, which isn't a Dow component, gained 4.3% recently.

  American Express also helped lift the Dow, jumping 3.4%, while energy components Chevron and Exxon Mobil were up more than 1.7% each. Verizon Communications also added to the Dow's gains, tacking on 0.7% as its latest quarterly earnings beat Street expectations.

  The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 27 points, or 1.3%, to 2182. The S&P 500 was recently up 11 points, or 1%, to 1090, just 10 points away from 1100, which has been a big resistance point for the index. Energy was its biggest gainer, up 1.9% as oil gained 0.9% to push back over $81 a barrel. Its technology and consumer discretionary sectors also had strong gains.

  The news out of RadioShack and Marvell helped investors feel good about third-quarter earnings again after stocks slid last week. Market watchers have gotten increasingly discerning about companies' reports as they look to justify the S&P 500's 60% rally over the past seven months. While the reports so far this earnings season have generally come in above Wall Street expectations, stocks gained so much heading into the reports that it often led to "selling on the news."

  Monday, however, that didn't seem to be the case. Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management, said Monday's reports showed more progress on the top line. RadioShack's earnings actually missed the Street's earnings forecast by a penny, but the stock's reaction - a 14% jump - shows how much more important revenue has become to investors.

  "About as many companies as expected are beating on the earnings front, but perhaps more than expected are beating on the revenue front," Stone noted.

  However, the financial sector was in a slump Monday, with the sector being the only S&P 500 category in the red. It was off 0.4% recently, following a flurry of bank bankruptcies announced over the weekend that took the bank-failure total to 106 this year.

  Bank of America tumbled 3%, while JPMorgan slid 1.4%, keeping the Dow's gains in check. The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that Bank of America's attempt to repay federal bailout funds and escape the government's grasp has been snagged by a disagreement over how much additional capital the bank must raise to satisfy regulators, according to people familiar with the situation.

  The markets also looked past a setback in October in Texas-area manufacturing. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported its production index came in at -8.0 from -0.5 in September, while new orders index fell to -2.8 from 8.0.

  In other markets, gold futures were higher, while the dollar slid against the euro, but edged up against the yen. Treasuries fell, with the two-year note recently down 1/32 to yield 1.029%, and the 10-year note down 17/32 at 3.552%.

  -By Donna Kardos Yesalavich, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2188; donna.yesalavich@dowjones.com