New York Report: Dow passes 17k as S&P breaks new record
US STOCKS ended higher yesterday, with the S&P 500 at a record after a flurry of positive economic data, as investors hoped for signs from an annual meeting of central bankers that interest-rate hikes are not imminent.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 60.36 points, or 0.36 per cent, to rise above 17,000 points again. It closed on17,039.49. The S&P 500 gained 5.86 points, or 0.29 per cent, to end at 1,992.37.
The benchmark S&P 500’s intraday record high was 1,994.76.
The Nasdaq Composite added 5.62 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 4,532.10.
Bank of America shares jumped 4.1 per cent to $16.16 after the company reached a record $16.65bn settlement with the US government related to troubled mortgage-backed securities.
Hewlett-Packard shares gained 5.4 per cent to $37 a day after the computing company posted a surprising increase in quarterly revenue.
Shares of eBay jumped 4.7 per cent to $55.89 on a report that the company was mulling a spinoff of its PayPal unit as soon as next year.
Going against the day’s upbeat trend was Sears Holdings, which tumbled 7.2 per cent to $33.38.
The stock slid after the owner of Sears department stores and the Kmart discount chain reported its ninth straight quarterly loss.
Sears also said it might close more stores than planned this year.