NEW YORK (AFP) - US stocks Wednesday moved higher in early trade as Wall Street prepared to close the books on another strong year for equities.About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 18,019.80, up 36.73 points (0.20 percent).The broad-based S&P 500 added 1.59 (0.08 percent) at 2,081.94, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 11.38 (0.24 percent) to 4,788.82.Analysts were expecting light trading volumes ahead of the New Years holiday Thursday, with little economic news on the calendar.The Labor Department said initial jobless claims came in at 298,000 in the week ending December 27, an increase of 17,000 from the previous weeks revised level.As of Tuesdays market close, the S&P 500 was up 12.6 percent for 2014, a solid followup to the 29.6 percent gain posted in 2013.No matter todays outcome, the year 2014 will go down as a very good year for the US stock market, said Briefing analyst Patrick OHare.Petroleum-linked equities dropped as oil prices opened sharply lower in New York. Dow member Chevron lost 0.9 percent, Anadarko fell 1.8 percent and oil services company Halliburton shed 1.7 percent.American Eagle Energy, a small Denver-based petroleum producer, tumbled 21.2 percent as it announced it was suspending its 2015 drilling budget until oil prices improve.Restaurant delivery service GrubHub rose 1.5 percent after Barrington Research raised its recommendation to outperform, citing the companys strong orientation toward mobile technology, among other strengths.Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury dipped to 2.18 percent from 2.19 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year held steady at 2.76 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.Dunya News Tv
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 12:29:53 +0000
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