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US stock markets go up

02 July 2009 08:39 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. The third quarter is starting on a positive note for the stock market after a mixed bag of economic data.
Major stock indexes rose more than 1 percent Wednesday after reports showing stabilization in manufacturing activity in the United States, Great Britain, and the 16 countries that share the euro currency. Investors also appeared pleased about a fourth straight monthly rise in pending home sales in May.
In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 119.03, or 1.4 percent, to 8,566.03. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 10.90, or 1.2 percent, to 930.22. The Nasdaq composite index rose 24.32, or 1.3 percent, to 1,859.36.
Stocks had dropped sharply Tuesday on a disappointing report on consumer confidence, but ended the second quarter with significant gains. The benchmark S&P 500 index had its best quarter in a decade.
Bond prices were mostly lower on Wednesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.59 percent from 3.54 percent late Tuesday.
In corporate news, Citigroup Inc. sold NikkoCiti Trust and Banking Corp., part of its Japanese business, to Nomura Trust and Banking Co. for $196 million. The New York bank, which has received $45 billion in government aid, has been selling assets and trying to streamline operations in an effort to return to profitability.
Still, the major indexes have pulled back from multi-month highs in mid-June amid growing doubts about the strength of the economy’s recovery.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 11.30, or 2.2 percent, to 519.58.
The dollar was mostly lower against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.
Light, sweet crude rose 47 cents to $70.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.2 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 2 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 2.2 percent, and France’s CAC-40 jumped 2.5 percent.