Stocks on Wall Street rose on better-than-expected housing data and mounting optimism over second-quarter earnings.At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 100.81 points, or 1.0%, to 10,525.43, pushing it back into positive territory for the
Stocks on Wall Street rose on better-than-expected housing data and mounting optimism over second-quarter earnings.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 100.81 points, or 1.0%, to 10,525.43, pushing it back into positive territory for the year. It is now 1.0% up.
Alcoa climbed 2.9% and Home Depot was up 2.2%, boosted by the housing data. New-home sales jumped 23.6% in June from the previous month, much better than the 3.7% gain expected by forecasters.
Financials strengthened as the economic outlook brightened. Bank of America gained 2% and American Express rose 1.4%.
Two weeks into earnings season, results have been mostly better than expected. With nearly half of the companies in the S&P 500 index having reported earnings by Friday's close, almost 71% beat operating estimates from S&P. That helped the S&P 500 climb 3.6% last week.
The S&P 500 was up 1.1% to 1115.01, led by its industrial sector, which benefited from a 5.5% jump in FedEx. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2% to 2296.43.
Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European stocks closed higher, lifted by an upbeat forecast from FedEx and stronger-than-expected US new home sales data.
Despite criticism over the stringency of the European stress tests, banking stocks posted the biggest gains, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index for the sector closing up 1.7%.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended 0.4% higher at 257.12. The UK's FTSE 100 index rose 0.7% to 5351.12, France's CAC-40 index closed up 0.8% at 3636.18 and Germany's DAX added 0.5% to 6194.21.
Most Asian stock markets advanced as investors reacted with relief to the results of the European bank stress tests.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.8% to 9503.66, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6% to 4486.14, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.6% to 2588.68, Korea's Kospi climbed 0.6% to 1769.07 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.1% to 20839.91.
Commodities: Oil steady, gold down
Crude oil futures wavered between gains and losses as economic data and equities markets left traders with a hazy picture of oil demand.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery settled unchanged at $US78.98 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 5USc higher at $US77.50 a barrel.
Gold futures pulled back as sharply stronger US housing data sapped the fear factor that recently drove the metal to record highs.
The most-actively traded gold contract for August delivery was down $US4.70, or 0.4%, at $US1183 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Euro, pound up
The euro touched $US1.30 as relief over the results of the stress tests of European banks continued to offer support.
The dollar also weakened against the UK pound and other currencies considered riskier.
The euro was at $US1.2997, compared with $US1.2916 late on Friday. The dollar moved to ¥86.90 from ¥87.37.
The euro strengthened to ¥112.94 from ¥111.84. The pound strengthened to $US1.5491 from $US1.5423.
