Stocks on Wall Street started October on a solid note, boosted by manufacturing and consumer spending data.Gold futures reached a new high, while oil is back aboice $US80 a barrel.The Institute for Supply Management said the US manufacturing sector expand
Stocks on Wall Street started October on a solid note, boosted by manufacturing and consumer spending data.
Gold futures reached a new high, while oil is back aboice $US80 a barrel.
The Institute for Supply Management said the US manufacturing sector expanded in September, but at a slower pace than in August. The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index also ticked up in September.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 41.63 points, or 0.4%, at 10,829.68. JP Morgan Chase was the Dow's top gainer, rising 2%. Bank of America gained 1.5%, while Hewlett-Packard fell 3.1% after it appointed Leo Apotheker as its new chief executive.
The Dow finished September just 70 points shy of where it stood six months earlier and is up 3.5% for the year. While blue chips gained 10.4% during the quarter, the rally only reversed losses in the second quarter.
The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1% to 2370.75 and the S&P 500 index rose 0.4% to 1146.25. The index climbed to as high as 1150, which has proved a barrier of late,
Other markets: Europe down, Asia up
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European stocks started the month on a mildly negative note, while in Asia auto shares powered Indian stocks to the highest level in nearly 33 months,
The UK FTSE 100 index rose 0.8% to 5592.90, but ended down 0.1% for the week, snapping five weeks of gains. BP gained 3%, while mining stocks advanced as well. 6%.
The German DAX 30 index fell 0.3% to 6211.34, dropping 1.4% for the week and the French CAC 40 index dropped 0.6%, for a 2.4% weekly fall, to 3692.09.
India's Sensex jumped 1.9%, to 20,445.04, its highest close since January 14, 2008. The week's 2% climb was its fifth straight week of gains.
Japanese stocks rose on buying interest in some beaten-down shares. The Nikkei Stock Average ended up 0.4% at 9404.23 but finished the week down 0.7%, its second straight weekly decline.
Commodities: Oil, gold up
Oil futures have shot back above $US80 a barrel for the first time since early August. The November contract ended the week up $US1.61 or 2% at an eight-week high of $8US1.58 a barrel in New York as the dollar slid to a six-month low against the euro.
Gold futures ended the week at all-time highs as the weaker dollar continued to feed gold's historic rally. The nearby October delivery contract settled at an all-time high, up $8.30, or 0.6%, at $US1316.10 an ounce in New York.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, settled up $US8.20, or 0.6%, at $US1317.80 an ounce. The settlement marked a new all-time high for the most actively traded contract, which also set an all-time intraday high of $US1322.00.
Currencies: Dollar down, pound up
The US dollar fell Friday against all major rivals on talk of further stimulus by the Federal Reserve.
The euro was at $US1.3783 from $US1.3634 late on Thursday. The dollar was at ¥83.39 from ¥83.48, while the euro was at ¥114.82 from ¥113.82.
The UK pound was at $US1.5834 from $US1.5711. The dollar was at 0.9760 Swiss francs from 0.9826 francs.
