S&P 500 closes above 1,100 for 1st time since Oct 2008

The US markets hit fresh 13-month closing highs post Bernanke's comment, weak dollar and US retail sales. The S&P 500 Index closed above 1,100 for the first time since October 2008. It was up 15.8 points or 1.45% 1,109.3.

By Reema Tendulkar, Research Analyst at CNBC-TV18

The US markets hit fresh 13-month closing highs post Bernanke's comment, weak dollar and US retail sales. Ben Bernanke signaled plans to leave rates low for a while leading to weakness in dollar and gain in commodities.

The S&P 500 Index closed above 1,100 for the first time since October 2008. It was up 15.8 points or 1.45% 1,109.3.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 136.5 points or 1.33% at 10,407 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 30 points or 1.38% to 2,197.8.

US Advancing Sectors: Energy gained 2.5%), Materials up 2.3% and Industrials rose 2.0%.

Asian markets opened mixed. Shanghai was up 0.6% (it Was up 0.6% last week versus Sensex gain of 4.3%). Hang Seng, Kospi and Taiwan were in the green while Nikkei and Straits Times were in red.

European markets hit 13-month closing high. The CAC was up 1.5%, DAX up 2% and FTSE up 1.63%. CBOE VIX ended down 2% at 22.89.

US Economic Data

Retail sales rose 1.4% in October against expectations of 0.9%. Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.2% in October against expectations of 0.4%.

Empire State Manufacturing Index fell to 23.51 from 34.57, against expectations of 30.

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