The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.7% to 16,383 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.8% to 1,864. The Nasdaq composite index gained 1.1% to 4,196.
The latest economic report showed that Americans spent slightly more in February as consumer spending grew at a modest pace despite the severe winter weather in much of the country.
Markets were higher in Europe and Asia also.
Asian stocks rose as as expectations grew that China will move to counter its economic slowdown. Chinese officials have set a target of 7.5% economic growth this year but are more concerned about ensuring sufficient new jobs are created than precisely meeting the GDP figure.
Best Low Price Companies To Watch For 2014
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index gained 0.5% to close at 14,696.03. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.1% to 22,065.53. But the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 2,041.71 as major banks reported profits in line with analysts' forecasts.
Benchmarks across Europe advanced, with the German DAX index leading the way with a 1.1% gain. Britain's FTSE 100 index added 0.4% and France's CAC 40 index rose 0.5%.
On Wall Street on Thursday, the Dow fell 4.76 points, or 0.03% to 16,264.23. The S&P 500 index dropped 3.52 points, or 0.2%, to 1849.04. The Nasdaq composite index fell 22.35 points, or 0.5%, to 4151.23.
Benchmark New York oil gained 55 cents to $101.83, compared to the previous close of $101.28, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
THURSDAY: Stocks close lower as tech stocks stumble again
Contributing: The Associated Press
No comments:
Post a Comment