Top Stocks To Buy Now - Gold rallies on dollar pullback, Greece

Top Stocks To Buy Now - SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) ? Gold futures rallied Thursday, boosted by a weaker dollar and expectations that central banks will maintain loose monetary policies for some time.

/quotes/zigman/660065 GCJ2 1,775.00, -11.30, -0.63%

Gold for April delivery GCJ2 ?advanced $16.30, or 0.9%, to $1,788.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, trading near session highs.

A day earlier, the metal settled at $1,771.30 an ounce, the highest since mid-November.

Bargain hunters stepped in during the prior session as the metal had eased following disappointment over Chinese data and fading optimism about Greece?s bailout deal.

Open interest, or the number of futures contracts outstanding, has picked up from a month ago ?which helps underpin the technical improvement? of the metal, said George Gero, a vice president with RBC Wealth Management in New York. ?We were looking for ($1,800 an ounce) by June, perhaps we may see if sooner,? he added.

Gold last topped $1,800 an ounce in mid-September after hitting a record $1,891.90 in late August.

Gold?s move! higher Wednesday ?was a reminder, if markets needed it, that central banks are set to remain in accommodative mode for some time to come,? said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst with CMC Markets.

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Top Stocks To Buy Now - Crude oil continues to climb

The price of crude oil has risen about 15% since the start of the year, fuelled by rising tension over Iran and the prospect of improved global growth.

He said the dovish tone from the Bank of England on Wednesday, last week?s stimulus from the Bank of Japan and a new long-term refinancing operation from the European Central Bank next week will increase money supply and underpin gold prices ?for some time to come against most [Group of 10] currencies.?

Top Stocks To Buy Now - Upside targets: $1,800, then $2,000

?The key level on the upside lies at the November highs at $1,801 and if we can push above here, then the record highs last year will come back into view, with the likelihood we could well see levels above $2,000 an ounce within the next 12 months,? said Hewson, in e-mailed comments.

With Fitch Ratings earlier this week lowering Greece?s credit rating, ratings agencies are debating whether to take the same step of further downgrading Greece and rate it as a ?selective default,? analysts at Commerzbank said in a note to clients.

Greek lawmakers also need to ?swiftly rubber-stamp? reform measures, while at the same time it isn?t clear how many private bondholders will agree to the country?s agreed haircut, they added.

?The sovereign-debt crisis is thus likely to keep the market on tenterhooks for some time yet, which should benefit gold,? the analysts said. !

Gold futures also got a boost as the dollar fell versus most major rivals.

A weaker dollar is beneficial for gold and other dollar-denominated commodities as it makes them cheaper to holders of other currencies. The dollar index DXY , which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six currencies, fell to 78.083 from 79.207 on Wednesday.

The euro EURUSD ?gained against the greenback after the Ifo Institute?s gauge of German business confidence rose more than forecast for February, and the shared currency earlier broke through resistance at $1.33 to trade above $1.3340, its highest against the dollar since mid-December. Read more.

Among other metals, copper for March delivery HGH2 ?pared losses, down 2 cents, or 0.5%, to $3.81 a pound.

Silver tracked gold higher, with the March contract SIH2 ?building on earlier gains and rallying $1.20, or 3.5%, to 35.46 an ounce.

Palladium turned higher, with platinum adding to earlier gains. Platinum has had steep recent gains on the back of a labor strike called at a top mine in South Africa.

Platinum for April delivery PLJ2 ?rose $4.60, or 0.3%, to $1,725.40 an ounce. March palladium PAH2 ! < /span>?rose $1.70, or 0.2%, to $719.45 an ounce.

Wednesday saw platinum?s first settlement above $1,700 since late September. For palladium, a settlement of $717.75 an ounce was its highest in five months.

Best Stocks to Buy - Consumers holding back, especially on cars

Best Stocks to Buy - NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Retail sales rose in January, but were dragged down by an unexpected decline in auto sales, according to government data released Tuesday.
Overall retail sales were up 0.4% compared to December, the Commerce Department reported. That's only half the gain forecast by economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
The biggest problem was a 1.1% decline in auto sales in the government report. Excluding auto sales, retail sales rose 0.7% in the latest report.
"January's retail sales data are better than they look, but they don't suggest that consumption growth is about to set the economic recovery alight," said Paul Dale, senior U.S. economist for Capital Economics.
The drop in auto sales caught many experts by surprise because automakers reported their best monthly U.S. sales since the spike that occurred during the "Cash for Clunkers" program in 2009.
But much of the gain in reported auto sales was due to a big jump in January fleet sales to business, such as rental car companies. Those sales do not get included in the retail sales reading.
Economists said the sales excluding autos actually came in a bit better than expected, despite the weaker-than-hoped headline reading.

Gift cards: Most popular holiday gift

Best Stocks to Buy - "To write this off as a weak report is a mistake," said Carl Riccadonna, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. He pointed out that most categories other than autos, furniture, health care products and nonstore retailers, primarily the online shopping, posted gains.
Part of what drove higher spending was an increase in gasoline prices, which lifted money spent at gas stations by 1.4%.
But there was also an increase in spending at general merchandise retailers, which includes department stores. Those sales rose 2% compared to December.
"All the post-holiday markdowns and gift cards received during the holidays worked their magic. They brought people into the stores," said Li! bby Bier man, analyst at Sageworks.
Sales at food stores climbed 1.3%. Riccadonna said that like the increased spending at gas stations, part of rise at supermarket checkouts was due to rising prices. But unlike the gas station rise, food prices accounted for only part of that gain.
"Whether it's buying more food or better cuts of meat, we can't say. But they're buying more, as they are in other categories," he said.
The report revised December data lower, suggesting an even weaker holiday shopping season than previously reported. Overall spending was revised down to essentially no gain after a 0.1% increase in the initial report last month, and there is now a 0.5% drop in spending excluding autos.
Economists had been hopeful that Best Stocks to Buy - consumers would start spending again, as recent jobs reports showed a pick-up in hiring and a decline in unemployment. But consumers seem to be keeping spending in check, despite having more money in the their wallets.