Stocks Pile on Gains Amid Bargain Hunting
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks piled on strong gains in late morning trading on Friday as investors took heart and decided to buy beaten-down issues after no major terror attacks took place as feared on the Fourth of July holiday.
Wall Street seemed unfazed by an incident in which an Egyptian man opened fire at an El AL ticket desk at Los Angeles airport Thursday, killing two people before being shot dead by guards.
"My sense is that we dodged a small bullet," said Michael Kayes, chief investment officer of Eastover Capital Management. "Everyone was on edge and you hate to see anything like that but I think we are over it."
Two days of solid gains in European markets also rubbed off on Wall Street, which will have a shortened session on Friday with the market closing at 1 p.m. EDT. Investors shrugged off data showing the U.S. unemployment rate edging higher in June amid weaker-than-expected payrolls growth. The government report showed an economy moving back to recovery at a slow clip and Wall Streeters called it disappointing.
The tech-laced Nasdaq Composite Index (NasdaqSC:^IXIC - News), piling on gains, was up 55.54 points, or 4.02 percent, to 1,435.71. The broad Standard & Poor's 500 (CBOE:^SPX - News) surged 29.80 points, 3.12 percent, to 983.79. The Dow Jones industrial average (CBOT:^DJI - News) jumped 277.39 points, or 3.06 percent, to 9,332.36. The blue-chip index was on track to close higher for the week, snapping a six-week losing streak. The Dow's surge set off trading curbs in index-arbitrage trades.
Leading the advance were Big Techs like chip giant Intel Corp. (NasdaqNM:INTC - News), up $1.38 at $19.13. The sector drew fuel from upbeat comments by Wall Street house Goldman Sachs on Asian technology firms. Glimpsing a pickup in global personal computer demand, Goldman upgraded its stance on Asian technology shares to "overweight" from "neutral." (-Additional reporting by Chelsea Emery-) ((-- Haitham Haddadin, Wall St. Desk, 646 223 6114) |
