New York, September 04: Wall Street’s Thursday rally ended a four-day losing streak, as some of the biggest US retailers reported higher sales.
Aided by its overseas revenues, Costco Wholesale Corp climbed 8.6 per cent, while clothier Gap Inc was up 7.6 per cent on August sales, which were higher than analysts’ projections.
Markets were down Wednesday as the Federal Reserve indicated the pace of the economic recovery was likely to be slow.
In minutes released from the central bank’s meeting last month, the Fed predicted an end to the recession in the second half of the year even as problems are expected to remain on the job market.
However, investors were awaiting the government’s monthly jobs report Friday. The report may say the unemployment rate climbed to 9.5 per cent in August, the highest level since 1983, Bloomberg News reported.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 63.94 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 9,344.61. The broader Standard and Poor’s 500 Index was up 8.49 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 1,003.24. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 16.13 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 1,983.2.
The US currency rose marginally against the euro to 70.12 euro cents from 70.1 euro cents on Wednesday. The dollar climbed against the Japanese currency to 92.62 yen from 92.24 yen.
–Agencies–