Stocks on Wall Street have climbed broadly, boosted by better-than-expected measures of the US housing market and euro-zone economic activity plus strong corporate earnings.Existing home sales and leading indicators topped estimates. The Conference Board
Stocks on Wall Street have climbed broadly, boosted by better-than-expected measures of the US housing market and euro-zone economic activity plus strong corporate earnings.
Existing home sales and leading indicators topped estimates. The Conference Board index of leading US economic indicators fell 0.2% in June, better than an expected 0.3% drop.
Meanwhile, companies such as Caterpillar, United Parcel Service and 3M posted strong revenue growth and guidance. American Express was also strong, up 4.1%, and Microsoft climbed 3% ahead of their results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 201.01 points, or 2.0%, higher at 10,321.54. Boeing was the measure's top performer, up 5.1%, after European rival aircraft manufacturer Airbus raised its order intake target for 2010.
3M jumped 2.9% after a 43% rise in second-quarter earnings. AT&T added 3.1% after a 26% increase in second-quarter earnings. Caterpillar climbed 1.5% after a 91% surge in quarterly profit and boosting its full-year earnings outlook.
The Nasdaq Composite rocketed 2.7% to 2245.89, while the S&P 500 index advanced 2.2% to 1093.51, with all of its sectors in positive territory, led by industrials.
Other markets: Europe up, Asia mixed
European stocks finished sharply higher. The euro zone's composite purchasing-managers index, which includes manufacturing as well as service industries, rose to 56.7 in July from 56.0 in June, instead of falling to 55.2 as expected. Industrial orders rose 3.8% in May, beating consensus expectations.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index advanced 2% to 254.37. The UK's FTSE 100 index added 1.9% to 5313.81, France's CAC-40 index ended up 3% at 3600.57 and Germany's DAX rose 2.5% to 6142.15.
In Asia, Japanese stocks were lower for a fifth straight session while Shanghai-listed shares climbed on hopes China will take a break from reining in its property market.
Shanghai-listed stocks gained for a fourth successive session, also sparking gains in Hong Kong-listed Chinese shares.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.6% to 9220.88 as exporters were hit again by the yen's recent strength.
Among the region's gainers, China's Shanghai Composite Index added 1.1% to close at 2562.41, Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 1% to 2955.67 and India’s Sensex rose 0.8% to 18,113.15.
Korea’s Kospi was down 0.8% at 1735.53, Taiwan’s Taiex was down 0.4% at 7666.34 and Australia’s S&P/ASX was down 0.9% at 4374.65.
Commodities: Oil, gold up
Crude futures rose, hitting three-week highs as a tropical depression developed that could soon reach the Gulf of Mexico.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery was up $US2.12, or 2.8%, at $US78.68 a barrel in New York, after rising as high as $78.95 a barrel. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded $1.86 higher at $77.23 a barrel.
Gold futures rose amid a rally in riskier assets. The most actively traded contract for August delivery rose $US7.10, or 0.6%, to $US1198.90 an ounce in New York. Gold briefly rose above the $US1200 an ounce mark for the first time since last Friday.
Currencies: Euro up, dollar down
The euro advanced sharply against the dollar along with other currencies closely tied to the pace of global economic growth, such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars. Both strengthened more than 1.5% against the greenback.
The euro has advanced more than 9% on the dollar since June 7, climbing to $US1.30 this week from a four-year low of just under $US1.19.
The euro was at $US1.2908 from $US1.2768 late on Wednesday. The dollar was at ¥87.06 from ¥87.03. The euro was at ¥112.38 from ¥111.11. The UK pound was at $US1.5255 from $US1.5170.
