Commodities lift Wall Street ahead of Easter
US stocks rose yesterday as miners and energy companies advanced on dollar weakness as the quarter’s end approached.
Exxon Mobil Corp was up 1.1 per cent to $67.30 and the S&P energy index rose 1.8 per cent.
Boeing, up 2.1 per cent and Caterpillar up 1.7 per cent. They were both the Dow’s top boosts. The S&P industrials index has risen 13 per cent so far. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 45.50 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 10,895.86. The S&P’s 500 Index climbed 6.63 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 1,173.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 9.23 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 2,404.36.
The benchmark S&P 500 as a whole is up 5.2 per cent. The S&P 500 is up 73.4 per cent since bottoming in March 2009.
The Dow is up 4.5 per cent for the quarter so far, while the Nasdaq is on track for a six per cent gain.
About 7.49bn shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.