Stocks Climb Amid Moves To Balance Trade

Stocks rose Monday after world finance leaders pledged to better balance global trade.

But with no concrete plans in place to avoid a currency war in the future, the dollar resumed its fall Monday. The weaker dollar is helping drive stocks and commodities higher as the cheaper currency makes them more attractive investments.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 100 points in morning trading. If the Dow can hold onto these gains for the rest of the day, it will close at its highest level of the year. Stocks extended their gains slightly after a report showed a bigger-than-expected jump in sales of existing homes.

The National Association of Realtors said sales of previously occupied homes rose 10 percent last month. However, sales remain extremely weak compared with where they were just a year ago, which is likely keeping enthusiasm over the news in check.

Homebuilders rose about 2 percent after the report, including Toll Brothers Inc. and D.R. Horton Inc. Toll shares rose 38 cents to $18.78. D.R. Horton rose 21 cents to $10.82.

The Dow rose 101.19, or 0.9 percent, to 11,233.75 in morning trading.

The Dow is again hovering near its highest closing level this year. It closed at 11,205.03 on April 26. If the Dow can hold onto its gains and finish above that level Monday, it would be its highest close since September 2008 — just before the credit crisis sent the market tumbling.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 11.04, or 0.9 percent, to 1,194.12, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 22.83, or 0.9 percent, to 2,502.22.

Bond prices rose slightly, sending interest rates lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.51 percent from 2.56 percent late Friday.

Gold rose $12.60 to $1,337.70 an ounce. Benchmark crude oil rose $1.43 to $83.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar fell against other major currencies. It hit a fresh 15-year low against Japan’s yen. The euro again climbed above $1.40.

Global finance ministers met over the weekend and agreed to avoid competitive devaluations of their currencies, but they didn’t lay out specific guidelines. There has been growing concerns that countries would artificially drive the value of their currencies lower. Weakening a national currency can help a country boost exports because goods become cheaper overseas.

While that can lift a country’s economic growth, it also creates imbalances in global trade. That can lead to protectionist responses from other countries, threatening to slow or halt a broader economic recovery.

Leaders from the countries whose finance ministers met over the weekend gather next month. More details about how countries can work together to avoid a currency war could be worked out then.

Other economic reports could further sway trading throughout the week, culminating with the government’s first estimate on third-quarter gross domestic product. The report, the broadest measure of the nation’s economy, is due out Friday.

Corporate earnings, which helped drive stocks modestly higher last week, could also play a central role in the coming days. Companies including DuPont, Procter & Gamble, 3M and Colgate-Palmolive all release results during the week.