The passing of the healthcare reform bill in the US Congress on Sunday boosted industry-linked stocks on Wall Street, sending the main indexes higher at the start of the week.Pfizer is up 1.8% and Merck up 1.6%. Investors also chased technology stocks as
The passing of the healthcare reform bill in the US Congress on Sunday boosted industry-linked stocks on Wall Street, sending the main indexes higher at the start of the week.
Pfizer is up 1.8% and Merck up 1.6%. Investors also chased technology stocks as the controversial measure reduced the main cause of domestic uncertainty in its effect on the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 43.91 points, or 0.4%, at 10,785.89, the ninth advance in 10 sessions.
Boeing was the measure's best performer, up 1.7%, after Oppenheimer raised its investment rating on the stock to outperform from underperform, citing the company's plans to increase production rates.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% to 2395.40, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.5% to 1165.81, led by the healthcare sector.
The only two categories in the red were utilities and energy, weighed down by a drop in oil futures.
Other markets
European stock markets fell with concerns over Greece weighing on overall sentiment, as the debt-ridden nation presses European Union leaders for a detailed standby aid plan this week.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 1.1% at 257.4. London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.9% to 5599.7, Frankfurt's DAX declined 0.9% to 5930.6, and the CAC-40 Index in Paris was 1.1% lower at 3880.7.
Asian markets mostly declined after a surprise rate increase in India on Friday raised fears that monetary tightening by other regional central banks may follow.
Property stocks in Hong Kong hit particularly hard. The Hang Seng Index dropped 2.1% to 20,933.25,
China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3071,58 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9% to 4830.20.
Korea's Kospi and Taiwan's Taiex gave up 0.8% each to 1672.67 and 7835.98 respectively.
India's Sensex fell 0.9% to 17,4410.57, while Singapore's Straits Times Index edged 0.9% lower to 2889.18. Japanese markets were closed for Vernal Equinox Day.
Commodities: Oil, gold down
Crude futures rallied late in the session after sinking to a three-week low of $US78.57 a barrel as concerns about India's tighter monetary policy and Greece's debt failed to ease over the weekend.
The April delivery contract expired at $US81.25, down 57USc from Friday's close in New York.
The most-active May contract settled at $US81.60, 63USc or 0.8% higher. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 66USc higher at $US80.54.
Gold prices fell to their lowest level in three weeks.
April gold was down $US8.10, or 0.7%, to $US1099.50 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Dollar up, euro down
The euro rebounded in late morning trading after earlier slumping to a three-week low against the US dollar and a two-week low against the yen.
The US dollar declined against both the euro and the yen.
The euro ended at $US1.3520, down from $US1.3535 late on Friday and at ¥122.90 from ¥122.60.
The dollar was at ¥90.16 from ¥90.56. The pound was at $US1.5096 from $US1.5018.
