Stocks on Wall Street ended their fourth-straight positive week with a bang as investors were encouraged by signs of stabilisation in durable goods and housing.While new-home sales were unchanged from July, the lack of a drop, combined with other positive
Stocks on Wall Street ended their fourth-straight positive week with a bang as investors were encouraged by signs of stabilisation in durable goods and housing.
While new-home sales were unchanged from July, the lack of a drop, combined with other positive readings on housing, provided increasing signs of stability.
The durable-goods data showed gains in machinery, computers and fabricated-metal products, while a barometer of capital spending by businesses rose.
In Germany, business sentiment rose, easing worries over a growth slowdown. Meanwhile, the euro climbed against the US dollar, oil futures advanced above $US76 a barrel and gold futures rose to a fresh record high above $US1300 an ounce.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 197.84 points, or 1.9%, to 10,860.26, its biggest one-day rise since September 1.
All 30 of the measure's components rose, led by a 4.6% jump in Caterpillar, a 3.9% climb in Alcoa and a 3.3% increase for Bank of America.
The Dow was up 2.4% for the week, extending its winning streak to a fourth week, and is up 8.3% for the month.
The Nasdaq Composite added 2.3% to 2381.22. The S&P 500 index rose 2.1% to 1148.67, with all sectors in positive territory. The industrial and consumer-discretionary sectors led the gains.
Other markets: Europe up, Asia mixed
European stocks posted strong gains, with the benchmark indexes in Germany and France rallying nearly 2%.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 1.1% to 263.89 points, after spending most of the day in negative territory. The index posted a weekly gain of 0.4%, bringing its month-to-date rise to 5%.
In London, the FTSE 100 index rose 0.9% to 5598.48, the CAC 40 index rallied 1.9% to 3782.48 in Paris, and in Frankfurt, the German DAX 30 index advanced 1.8% to 6298.30.
Asian markets ended on a mixed note, with Japan down and Hong Kong at a fresh, five-month high as property developers extended their winning run.
The Nikkei Stock Average went on a roller-coaster ride during the session, briefly turning positive as the yen briefly fell sharply in the afternoon trade on denied reports of a currency intervention. The Nikkei finished 1% lower at 9,471.67, after briefly rising above 9600.
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.3% to end at 22,119.43, its highest closing level since mid-April.
Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.4% to 8166.62, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7% 4601.87, Korea's Kospi rose 0.8% to 1846.60 and India's Sensex gained 0.9% to 20,045.18. Markets in China remained closed for a holiday.
Commodities: Oil, gold up
The light, sweet crude-oil futures contract for November delivery posted its biggest rise in two weeks in New York. The closing price was up $US1.31, or 1.7%, to $US76.49 a barrel, the highest since September 14.
Gold broke above $US1300 an ounce for the first time, but couldn't hold on, though it still ended up for a third straight session.
Gold reached as high as $US1301.60. The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, rose $US1.80 to $US1298.10 an ounce in New York, the metal's seventh record settlement price in the last nine sessions. The September contract rose $US1.70, or 0.1%, to $US1296.00.
Currencies: Euro up, dollar down
The euro shot to its highest level against the dollar since April, while the Australian and Canadian dollars each gained around 1% against the greenback.
The Australian dollar sailed to its strongest level since July 2008.
But the dollar remained in a tight range against the Japanese yen, which fell briefly on a reports of an intervention.
The euro was at $US1.3480 from $US1.3317 late on Thursday. The dollar was at ¥84.27 from ¥84.33, while the euro was at ¥113.56 from ¥112.32.
The UK pound was at $US1.5830 from $US1.5683, rising to its highest level in six weeks. The dollar was at 0.9839 Swiss francs from 0.9856 francs.
