US markets close ahead
US stocks ended higher yesterday, snapping a seven-day losing streak by the S&P 500, but worries about the economy kept trading volatile.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 29.82 points, or 0.25 per cent, to end at 11,896. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 6.29 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 1,260. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 23.83 points, or 0.89 per cent, at 2,693.
Earlier in trading stocks tumbled to a new low for the year after another round of soft economic data. credit card processor MasterCard jumped after second-quarter profit rose 33 per cent on gains in card transactions.