Stocks on Wall Street climbed modestly as energy companies benefited from higher expectations for global oil demand.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47.53 points, or 0.5% to 10,462.77, a slim rise of 0.1% for the week. Among the Dow's strongest perfo
Stocks on Wall Street climbed modestly as energy companies benefited from higher expectations for global oil demand.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47.53 points, or 0.5% to 10,462.77, a slim rise of 0.1% for the week. Among the Dow's strongest performers, Chevron rose 1.2% as crude-oil prices climbed above $US76 a barrel.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.5% to 1109.55, up 0.4% for the week. The energy sector led after the International Energy Agency revised up its estimate for global oil demand for 2010.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to 2242.48, also up 0.4% for the week.
Trading volume continued to be light as investors sought more conviction in the market's direction.
Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European stocks rose Thursday, led by gains in banking, resource and auto shares.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 1.1% to 265.09.
The UK FTSE 100 added 1.2% to 5494.16, the German DAX rose 0.9% to 6221.52 and Germany’s CAC-40 climbed 1.2% to 3722.15.
In Asia, Japanese stocks rose as investors were encouraged by signs of increased Chinese demand for goods and a weaker yen.
China's August imports were up 35.2% from a year ago to $US119.27 billion, beating a 25% increase expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. Exports climbed 34.4% to $139.3 billion, compared to an expected 35% increase.
The Nikkei Stock Average jumped 1.6% to 9239.17, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.4% to 21257.39 and China's Shanghai Composite added 0.3% to 2663.21, reversing earlier losses.
Australia's ASX/S&P 200 shed 0.5% to 4560.25, Korea's Kospi Composite added 1% to 1802.58 and Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.7% to 7890.11.
Markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and the Philippines were closed for a holiday.
Commodities: Oil up, gold down
Crude futures surged after a pipeline leak in Illinois rattled traders worried about its effect on supplies.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery were up $US2.16, or 2.9%, at $US76.41 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 75USc higher at $US78.82 a barrel.
Gold futures retreated farther from record levels, trumping optimism that the International Monetary Fund had found a buyer for more than $400 million worth.
The most actively traded gold contract for December delivery fell $US4.40, or 0.4%, to settle at $US1246.50 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Dollar, euro up
The US dollar and euro gained ground against the Japanese yen and Swiss franc. The yen and franc tend to quickly fall out of favour when investors' willingness to buy riskier assets improve.
The dollar rose against the yen to trade at ¥84.15, up from ¥83.83 on Thursday.
The euro bought ¥107.07, up from ¥106.46, after the Japanese government unveiled a $US10.9 billion stimulus package.
The yen this week hit a fresh 15-year high versus the US dollar.
The euro bought $US1.2723, up from $US1.2699. The UK pound turned down to trade at $US1.5377, compared with $US1.5431.
