Banks boost US as Dow ends 5-day losing streak
WALL Street rebounded yesterday, but strong buying interest evaporated in the afternoon as bearish sentiment reasserted itself.
Ending a five-day string of losses, the major indexes bounced back after the S&P 500 closed at a 10-month low on Friday, but investors used the morning’s gains as an opportunity to sell rather than establish new long positions.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 57.14 points, or 0.59 per cent, at 9,743.62. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 5.48 points, or 0.54 per cent, at 1,028.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.09 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 2,093.88.
Banks stocks ended higher, with Bank of America up 1.6 per cent to $14.06 and the KBW bank index 1.2 per cent higher. Goldman Sachs rose 0.9 per cent to $132.26.
Overall volume was tepid, with about 8.69bn shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last year’s estimated daily average of 9.65 bn.