Wall St stages comeback as bargain hunters move in
US stocks staged a comeback yesterday, breaking a four-day losing streak by major indexes, as key technical support triggered bargain hunting that offset weak economic data.
The S&P 500 index sagged as much as one per cent after data showed new single-family home sales slumped to a record slow pace in July. But positive momentum grew through the session after the benchmark S&P 500 bounced back from a breach of the 1,040 level.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.61 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 10,060.06. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 3.46 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,055.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 17.78 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 2,141.54.
The KBW bank index briefly hit 42.70. The index finished down 0.4 per cent at 43.41.
The Nasdaq fared better than the other two main indexes, boosted by Apple.
But the market’s gains may prove to be short lived. The S&P’s 14-day moving average fell below its 50-day moving average.
About 8.14bn shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,832 to 1,167, while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners 1,676 to 977.