* Intel results, outlook ignite stock rally
* Fed officials see recession coming to an end -minutes
* U.S. credit card defaults lower than feared
* Dow up 3.1 pct, S&P 500 up 3 pct, Nasdaq up 3.5 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Updates to close)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks racked up stronggains on Wednesday, sparked by results from bellwether Intel
Corp <INTC.O> that lifted hopes for a rebound in technology
spending and improved corporate profitability.
The broad S&P 500 has gained 6.1 percent so far this week,
its best three days since the rally began in March, as
companies, including Intel and Goldman Sachs Group <GS.N>,
posted much better-than-expected results.
The current earnings season is key as investors look for
evidence to support optimism for an economic recovery.
In a sign that consumers might be faring better than
feared, U.S. credit card companies said defaults and
delinquencies were lower in June than expected. American
Express <AXP.N> forecast better business in the second half of
the year, pushing its stock up 11.3 percent to $27.22. For
details, see []
Optimism was further reinforced by manufacturing data that
suggested the recession is abating, as well as minutes from
the Federal Reserve's most recent policy-setting meeting that
showed officials judged that the U.S. economy's contraction
was slowing. []
But Intel set the tone with earnings that handily beat
forecasts on better-than-expected consumer demand for personal
computers. It also gave a strong outlook and shares of the
world's largest chip maker shot up 7.3 percent to $18.05.
"Intel is the guts of the whole technology industry, so
when they're talking about consumers getting more active on
the PC front, that augers well for a lot of different things,"
said David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset
Advisors in New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> rose 256.72
points, or 3.07 percent, to 8,616.21. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> gained 26.84 points, or 2.96 percent, to
932.68, its best gain in nearly two months and putting it
solidly back into the black for the year. The Nasdaq Composite
Index <> jumped 63.17 points, or 3.51 percent, to
1,862.90.
Along with technology shares, the financial sector led the
way higher, with the S&P financial index <.GSPF> climbing 4.1
percent. Hopes that banks will report better-than-anticipated
quarterly results fueled Monday's rally. JPMorgan <JPM.N>,
which releases its scorecard on Thursday, gained 4.5 percent
to $36.26.
Intel's results lifted rival Advanced Micro Devices
<AMD.N> shares, pushing AMD up 8.7 percent to $3.86 on the New
York Stock Exchange, while the PHLX semiconductor index
<.SOXX> jumped 4.4 percent.
Tech will likely continue to be in the spotlight on
Thursday with results expected from bellwethers International
Business Machines <IBM.N> and Google <GOOG.O>. IBM gave the
Dow its biggest boost. IBM's stock climbed 3.9 percent to
$107.22 on the NYSE, while Google's shares gained 3.2 percent
to $438.17 on Nasdaq.
On the economic front, separate reports showed both
industrial output and New York factory activity declined at a
slower pace, while consumer prices edged up moderately. The
New York Federal Reserve Bank's Empire State business index
registered its strongest level since April 2008.
[]
Minutes from last month's FOMC meeting showed central bank
policy-makers thought economic growth would resume in the
second half of the year, although the economy remained
vulnerable.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
