Stocks on Wall Street surged to a four-month high, boosted by a new report confirming the recession's official end and on positive news from the housing front.The National Bureau of Economic Research, the unofficial arbiter of recessions' start and end da
Stocks on Wall Street surged to a four-month high, boosted by a new report confirming the recession's official end and on positive news from the housing front.
The National Bureau of Economic Research, the unofficial arbiter of recessions' start and end dates, said the recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009.
Earnings-fueled optimism over the housing industry also boosted confidence in the economic recovery. Home Depot gained 1.9% as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 145.77 points, or 1.4%, to close at 10,753.62.
Financial stocks stood out. American Express was up 4.2%, JP Morgan Chase 2.8% and Bank of America 2.6%.
Also hitting a four-month high, the S&P 500 index advanced 1.5% to 1142.70, breaking above 1130, the top of the index's recent trading range.
Home builder Lennar jumped 8.4% after a return to profitability in its third quarter, beating analysts' forecasts.
So far this month, shares have risen 7.4% – the best September since 1939.
The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.7% to 2355.83, buoyed by a wave of deal activity in the fast-consolidating technology industry. IBM rose 0.9% after agreeing to acquire data specialist Netezza in a deal valued at $US1.78 billion. Netezza jumped 12%.
Other markets: Europe up, Asia mixed
European stocks closed up, helped by favorable comments on the outlook for the UK, The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended up 1.3% at 266.22.
The UK's FTSE 100 closed up 1.7% at 5602.54, the first close above the 5600-level since May 2010. Moody's retained its stable outlook for the UK, saying the country's triple A rating was safe as long as the government's austerity measures remained on target.
Germany's DAX gained 1.4% to 6294.58 and France's CAC-40 closed 1.8% higher at 3788.01.
Asian stock markets ended mixed.
China shares ended at their lowest level in more than five weeks because of concerns Beijing will take fresh measures to tighten bank lending. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4% to 2588.7, its lowest closing level since mid-August.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2% to 4631.35, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was little changed, rising 0.03% to 21,977.34, and India's Sensex was up 1.6% to 19,906.10.
Korea's Kospi Composite finished at a two-year high, rising 0.3% to 1832.63, while Singapore’s Strait Times was up 0.15% to 3080.98. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.
Commodities: Oil, gold up
Crude-oil futures rose, bouncing back from four-straight sessions of losses. Oil prices dropped nearly 5% last week.
The October delivery contract, due to expire on Tuesday, ended at $US1.38, or 1.9%, higher at $US75.04 a barrel in New York.
Gold futures continued their climb into record territory amid uncertainty in currency markets.
The gold contract for September delivery was up $US6.40, or 0.5%, to $US1282 an ounce in New York. It traded as high as $US1284.90, a new record high.
Currencies: Euro up, dollar down
The euro gained modestly against the dollar, but came off its highest levels of the day as fresh worries over the euro zone's periphery once again surfaced. Yields on Portuguese and Irish bonds spiked higher.
The dollar also declined against most of its other rivals as investors took a cautious stance ahead of Tuesday's meeting of the US Federal Reserve.
A Japanese holiday kept yen trading subdued. The euro was at $US1.3075 from $1.3037 from late on Friday. The dollar was at ¥85.71 from ¥85.82, while the euro was at ¥112.05 from ¥111.86.
The UK pound was at $1.5564 from $US1.5623. The dollar was at 1.0048 Swiss francs from 1.0098 francs.
