Economy
CLOSING BELL: September 6th: DJIA: 13,292.00 | UP 244.52 | +1.87%
OIL: $95.53, UP 0.17, +0.18%
GOLD: $1,705.60, UP 11.60, -+0.68%
GASOLINE (US Avg): $3.823, DOWN .001
Wall Street closes at multi-year highs on ECB, data
Ryan Vlastelica, Reuters – Stocks closed at multi-year highs on Thursday, with the S&P 500 ending at its highest level since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers as investors hailed a new European bond-buying program aimed at stemming the region’s debt crisis.
Sentiment was also boosted by stronger-than-expected data on the U.S. services sector and labor market, which was especially notable ahead of Friday’s non-farm August payrolls report.
The rally was broad, with more than three-fourths of stocks listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq ending higher. Materials, financials and industrials – groups tied to the pace of economic growth – led with gains of more than 2 percent, giving the Dow index its biggest daily gain in two months and helping the Nasdaq advance to its highest since 2000.
“As clouds related to Europe start to drift off, there’s no question that there’s still juice left from here,” said Richard Weiss, a Mountain View, California-based senior money manager at American Century Investments, which has about $120 billion in assets under management. “That equities are up double digits year-to-date doesn’t deter us from remaining overweight on them for the foreseeable future.”
Tech shares helped lift the Nasdaq in its best daily performance since July 27. SanDisk Corp (SNDK.O) climbed 8.4 percent to $44.01 and Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) added 7.8 percent to $6.68. The Dow was lifted by Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), which advanced 2.1 percent to an all-time closing high of $51.86.
ECB President Mario Draghi, backing up his July pledge to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro, said the central bank’s plan for potentially unlimited bond-buying would address bond market distortions and “unfounded” fears of investors about the survival of the euro.
Read the rest of this article at Reuters here.
The Common Good publishes a financial market wrap-up every weekday after markets close, available here.
