Dow Jones: 11,509.09 (+75.91) Nasdaq: 2,622.31. (+15.24) S&P 500: 1,216.01 (+6.90)US STOCKS rose for a fifth day in a row yesterday and the SP 500 scored its best week since early July on signs euro zone leaders were acting together to limit any damage from its sovereign debt crisis.
The leaders took steps this week to show they were tackling the debt crisis, which has plagued markets for weeks, including co-ordinated central bank moves to give European banks greater access to funding in dollars.
US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner urged EU finance ministers to leverage their bailout fund to better tackle the debt crisis and to start speaking with one voice, but there was no agreement on what steps to take.
Still, the encouraging headlines out of Europe helped the SP 500 post a 5.4 per cent gain for the week, its best since early July, and the five-day string of gains was the broad indexs strongest since the end of June.
The Nasdaq composite index registered its best weekly percentage advance since July 2009, reflecting strength in technology shares on Friday. The SP tech index rose 1 per cent, while the SP consumer discretionary index also gained 1 per cent.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 75.91 points, or 0.66 per cent, at 11,509.09. The Standard Poor’s 500 Index was up 6.90 points, or 0.57 per cent, at 1,216.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.24 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 2,622.31.
The Nasdaq gained 6.3 per cent for the week while the Dow rose 4.7 per cent.
Among US stocks, General Electric gained 1.6 per cent to $16.33 after forming two new joint ventures in Russia that it said could generate $10 billion to $15 billion in new revenue over the next few years.
United Technologies is lining up financing for a major acquisition in the United States, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The US industrial conglomerate is tapping the credit market for funds that could top $20 billion, said one of the sources. Its shares slipped 0.1 per cent to $75.50.
One of the worst hit stocks, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion slid 19 per cent to $23.93 a day after it reported a steep drop in quarterly profit and offered little hope of a turnaround soon. – (Reuters)
