U.S. stocks climbed to a two-month high, on the first trading day in 2009, following the market’s worst annual drop since the Great Depression, as General Motors Corp. got its first cash infusion from the government and rising oil prices lifted energy shares.
GM, rallied 14 percent after receiving $4 billion in rescue loans from the Treasury to help the company avoid collapse. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. led a gauge of energy producers to a sixth straight advance. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. jumped 16 percent on takeover speculation after agreeing to notify one of its largest investors of any offers.
Exxon Mobil, rose 2.3 percent to $81.64. Chevron, added 3.5 percent to $76.52. Crude jumped 3.9 percent to $46.34 a barrel, capping the biggest weekly gain since 1986, as retaliatory attacks by Israel against Hamas in the Gaza strip threatened to disrupt supplies from the Middle East. Natural gas climbed 6.2 percent as lower-than-normal temperatures were forecast for the U.S. East Coast in early January.
The S&P 500 rose 3.2 percent to 931.8, capping its first three-day gain in five weeks and best start to a year since 2003. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 258.3 points, or 2.9 percent, to 9,034.69. The Russell 2000 Index of small U.S. companies advanced 1.3 percent.
Both the S&P 500 and Dow climbed to their highest closes since the first week of November.
The S&P 500 climbed 6.8 percent this week, its best week since November, and extended its rebound from Nov. 20 to 24 percent.
GM surged 45 cents to $3.65 for the biggest gain in the Dow average. The loans are part of $17.4 billion in financing that the Treasury has promised to GM and Chrysler LLC in a bid to avert a bankruptcy by either company. GM’s infusion will help the Detroit-based automaker pay suppliers as its cash dwindles.
Citigroup Inc. climbed 43 cents, or 6.4 percent, to $7.14. Chief Executive Officer and Chairman will forgo 2008 bonuses after the bank lost three-quarters of its market value in the year and got a $45 billion U.S. bailout.
Oshkosh Corp. climbed 16 percent to $10.30. The Wisconsin- based maker of military trucks won a contract valued at as much as $1.12 billion to provide support services for heavy- and medium-duty trucks used by the U.S. government.
Anheuser-Busch Cos. jumped 31 percent after InBev NV agreed to acquire the owner of Budweiser beer to create the world’s biggest brewer. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., McDonald’s Corp. were the only two companies in the 30-stock Dow average that rose last year.