Dow sets new 5 year high despite budget cuts

The Dow Jones Industrial Average defied the effects of new US spending cuts and pushed to a new five-year high Monday. At the closing bell, the Dow picked up 38.16 points (0.27 percent) to 14,127.82, its second highest close ever and less than 40 points from the all-time record set on October 9, 2007. The broad-based S&P 500 increased 7.00 (0.46 percent) to 1,525.20, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.29 (0.39 percent) to 3,182.03. The gains came after US budget cuts took effect Friday following the failure of Washington policy makers to agree on a compromise package. "Yes the sequester has been activated, but it will take time to have effect on the economic data," said Peter Cardillo of Rockwell Global Capital. The markets continue to show much "resilience," he added. Analysts pointed to remarks from the Federal Reserve's number two official that reaffirmed the Fed's aggressive stimulus policy. Janet Yellen, vice chairwoman of the Fed board of governors, said in a speech that the Fed intends to "keep monetary policy highly accomodative until well into the recovery." Yahoo gained 3.5 percent after earning an upgrade from Barclays, while other big tech stocks were mixed: Apple fell 2.4 percent, Google added 1.9 percent and Oracle picked up 1.2 percent. Oil-services company Transocean inched 0.1 percent higher after besting earnings forecasts and reinstating its dividend. Oil company Hess picked up 3.5 percent after saying it would exit downstream businesses and focus on exploration and production. The news lifted leading independent refiners, including Marathon Petroleum Corp. (+5.6 percent), Phillips 66 (+2.8 percent) and Valero Energy (+4.0 percent). Among retailers, Dow components Walmart and Home Depot picked up 1.9 percent and 1.8 percent respectively, while Target gained 3.6 percent. Shares of bed and mattress maker Select Comfort plunged 15.8 percent after it said February sales were disappointing and its first quarter performance could miss forecasts. Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond rose to 1.88 percent from 1.85 percent late Friday, while the yield on the 30-year jumped to 3.09 percent from 3.07 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.