Posted on July - 01 - 2011

US stocks launch 2nd half with fireworks

NEW YORK – US STOCKS jumped sharply higher on Friday, closing out the best week in two years and starting the second half on a solid positive note.

In thin trade ahead of the long July 4 holiday weekend, the Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 168.43 points (1.36 per cent) to 12,582.77.

The broader S&P 500 gained 19.03 (1.44 percent) to 1,339.67, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 42.51 points (1.53 per cent) at 2,816.03.

All 30 Dow blue chips were up, led by a 2.8 per cent climb by Alcoa and a 2.2 per cent jump by JP Morgan Chase.

On the Nasdaq, Apple added 2.2 per cent and Yahoo 2.8 per cent.

The markets got a boost from the release of the ISM purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector for June, which climbed 1.8 per cent from May, much better than economists had forecast. — AFP

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