Sign up to create alerts for Instruments,
Economic Events and content by followed authors
Free Sign Up Already have an account? Sign In
Quotes
All Instrument Types
- All Instrument Types
- Indices
- Equities
- ETFs
- Funds
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Crypto
- Bonds
- Certificates
Please try another search
🙌 It's Here: the Only Stock Screener You'll Ever Need Get Started
U.S stocks gain on data, Bernanke comments; Dow up 0.50%
Published Jul 18, 2013 04:21PM ET
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.50%, the S&P 500 index also ended up 0.50%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.04%.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 24,000 to 334,000, better than expectations for a drop of 13,000 to 345,000.
Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index rose 19.8 for July from June’s 12.5 reading. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 7.8.
Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told U.S. lawmakers in his semi-annual congressional testimony earlier that stimulus programs will remain in place for the foreseeable future though they may begin to wind down later this year if the economy improves.
Stimulus programs such as the Fed's USD85 billion monthly asset-purchasing program tend push up stock prices by keeping borrowing costs low.
However, talk of their dismantling can send stock prices rising as well, as a decision to do so would signify a more robust economy.
Bernanke stressed that an end to such stimulus programs will not herald the arrival of tighter monetary policy and added that benchmark lending rates may remain at rock-bottom levels even if the country's monthly unemployment rate approaches 6.5%, a level the U.S. central bank has said it would like to see.
A combination of accommodative monetary policy and an improving underlying economy is often bullish for stocks.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included UnitedHealth Group, up 6.51%, Bank of America, up 3.21%, and Boeing, up 2.77%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Intel, down 3.73%, American Express, down 3.63%, and Merck, down 1.52%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 1.35%, France's CAC 40 rose 1.44%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished up 1.00%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.95%.
Related Articles
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
Report this comment
I feel that this comment is:
Comment flagged
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.