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US market indices move up

18 March 2009 09:37 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vahab Rzayev - APA-Economics. Major market indicators jumped more than 2 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which added 179 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq surged more than 4 percent after sliding Monday. Stocks have risen five out of the past six sessions, AP reports.
The government’s report that housing starts rose unexpectedly in February more than offset news that Alcoa Inc. is slashing its dividend.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 178.73, or 2.5 percent, to 7,395.70.
Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 24.23, or 3.2 percent, to 778.12, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 58.09, or 4.1 percent, to 1,462.11.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 17.23, or 4.5 percent, to 403.59.
Four stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 1.49 billion shares. Light volume indicates less conviction behind the market’s moves.
Bond prices fell as stocks gained. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.00 percent from 2.96 percent late Monday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.24 percent from 0.23 percent.
The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.
Light, sweet crude rose $1.81 to settle at $49.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 1.4 percent, and France’s CAC-40 slid 0.9 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock jumped 3.2 percent.