Stocks on Wall Street climbed as investors mulled mixed US economic data and weighed the effects of Japan's intervention to halt a soaring yen.Japanese authorities put about $US16 billion into currency markets to curb the yen and send the dollar higher. I
Stocks on Wall Street climbed as investors mulled mixed US economic data and weighed the effects of Japan's intervention to halt a soaring yen.
Japanese authorities put about $US16 billion into currency markets to curb the yen and send the dollar higher. It rose more than 3% to trade above ¥85 after the intervention, the first since 2004.
US industrial production rose for a second straight month in August, but the increase was smaller than expected. Meanwhile, US import prices rose more than expected in August from July amid higher energy and food prices.
At the end of a positive session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 46.24 points, or 0.4%, at 10,572.73.
Travelers climbed 2.3% while Hewlett-Packard advanced 1.4%. Cisco Systems rose 1.7% one day after the technology giant said it would start issuing a dividend.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5% to 2301.32 and the S&P 500 index was up 0.35% to 1125.06.
Other markets: Europe up, Asia up
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surged after the yen intervention, closing up 2.3% to 9516.56, its largest one-day gain since late July and the highest close since August 10.
Most major European indexes were lower, weighed down by weak UK jobs data. Banks, oil and drug stocks were all weaker.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.3% to 265.54 after closing steady on Tuesday. The UK's FTSE 100 index fell 0.2% to 5555.56, France's CAC-40 index ended 0.5% lower at 3755.64 and Germany's DAX dropped 0.2% to 6261.87.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets ended generally higher. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8% to 4661.50, Korea's Kospi Composite reversed early losses to close up 0.5% at 1823.88, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index nudged up 0.1% to 21725.64 and India's Sensex gained 0.8% to 19502.11.
The Shanghai Composite Index was a notable decliner, off 1.3% at 2652.50.
Commodities: Oil, gold down
Crude-oil futures cut their losses after a US government report showed a drop in supplies that came within expectations.
Crude oil for October delivery fell $US1.30, or 1.7%, to $US75.54 a barrel in New York. Prices had hovered around $US75.33 a barrel before an Energy Department report showed inventories declined 2.5 million barrels last week.
Gold futures traded lower as some market participants sold holdings to cash in on the metal's record-high prices. The September delivery contract was down $US5, or 0.4%, at $US1264.70 in New York.
Gold reached a record high of $US1271.70 an ounce on Tuesday,
Currencies: Dollar up, yen down
The US dollar strengthened against the yen after the first Japanese currency intervantion in more than six years.
After having fallen to a 15-year low of ¥82.87 on Tuesday, the initial barrage of yen-selling orders hit the market early in Asian trading.
It was followed by bursts that pushed the dollar above ¥85. The dollar finished at ¥85.63 from ¥83.08 late on Tuesday, after hitting ¥85.77 yen intraday.
The euro also strengthened sharply against the yen, to ¥111.23 from ¥108.09 late on Tuesday.
The euro weakened slightly against the dollar, moving to $US1.2997 from $US1.3008.
The UK pound strengthened to $US1.5630 from $US1.5559 and the dollar strengthened to 1.0025 Swiss francs from 0.9955.
