A late rally helped U.S. stocks to close higher overnight with better than expected retail sales results from retailers like Costco Wholesale Corporation and Gap helping to boost confidence about the health of the economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 64 points to 9,345. The S&P500 Index added 8 points to 1,003 and the NASDAQ gained 16 points to 1,983.
In economic news: The Institute for Supply Management’s services sector index rose to a read of 48.4 in August, up from 46.4 in July. Economists expected a rise to 48. The read still remained below the 50 mark separating expansion from contraction.
According to Thomson Reuters, overall same-store sales, sales at stores open for more than a year, fell 2.9 per cent in August compared to the same period last year. However the fall was a lot less than expectations which focused around a 3.8 per cent drop.
In company news: Shares in pharmaceutical company Sepracor Inc (NASDAQ:SEPR) rose 0.22 per cent to $22.85. Japan’s Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma confirmed that it is to acquire Sepracor for approximately $2.6 billion.
Shares in warehouse club Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) advanced 8.57 per cent to $54.99. The company reported a 2 per cent decline in same-store sales for August, less than analyst expectations for a drop of 5.6 per cent.
Shares in aluminium producer Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) gained 3.98 per cent to $12.01. The company upwardly revised its forecast for global aluminium demand as a result of stimulus spending in China.
And shares in maker of canned fruit and Meow Mix cat food Del Monte Foods Company (NYSE:DLM) up 7.53 per cent to $11.14. The company saw its stock rise after reporting profit of 30 cents a share for the first quarter of the fiscal year. Bloomberg says the result was more than seven times the 4 cent average estimate of seven analysts it surveyed.
Checking the NASDAQ Top 100: The best performer was Costco Wholesale Corporation, price as mentioned before. Fastenal and Flextronics were the next best performers.
Looking at the downside, Amgen was the worst performer after President Barack Obama said he intends to be more directly involved in the legislative fight over restructuring the health-care system in the U.S. shares fell 1.07 per cent lower to $58.47. Shares in Garmin and Oracle also declined.
