U.S. stocks close higher for fourth consecutive day


New York: U.S. stocks posted four winning streak Thursday as concerted efforts by central banks encouraged optimism, Xinhua reported. The European Central Bank, along with the Federal Reserve and other central banks, will provide dollar liquidity to European banks in fourth quarter. The move comes amid investors' fear about the health of European banking system and sovereign debt woes, helped to ease investors' nerves on European debt crisis. On economic front, the labour department said the number of people filing for unemployment benefits rose 11,000 to 428,000 in the week ending Sep 10, the highest level in nearly two month, suggesting that the job markets were still weak. A separate report from the government agency showed the Consumer Price Index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent in August while the core rate rose 0.2 percent, larger than previous expectations by economists. The figure showed that the inflationary risk is emerging. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's general business conditions index improved to -17.5 from August's severely negative reading of -30.7. The index suggested that business conditions in the mid-Atlantic region are still contracting. A report form the federal reserve said that overall industrial production in August rose 0.2 percent, following a 0.9 percent jump in July, showing that recovery of industrial production might decelerate. All sectors were in positive territory Thursday with conglomerates and energy sectors among the biggest advancers. In other markets, oil rose to nearly $90 a barrel, lifted by optimism. While gold retreated to below $1,800 an ounce as risk-aversion appetite faded. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 186.45 points, or 1.66 percent, to 11,433.18. The Standard & Poor's 500 jumped 20.43 points, or 1.72 percent, to 1,209.11 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 34.52 points, or 1.34 percent, to 2,607.07.
Source: IANS