US markets end higher on Thursday

15 Sep 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday, with Dow Jones Industrial Average settling over 300 points. The strength on markets reflected a positive reaction to a slew of U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of August. The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in August after rising by a downwardly revised 0.5 percent in July. Street had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. The bigger than expected increase in retail sales was largely due to higher gas prices, however, as sales rose by just 0.2 percent excluding sales by gas stations.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed producer prices in the U.S. increased by more than expected in month of August. The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand advanced by 0.7 percent in August after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in July. Street had expected producer prices to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. On the sectoral front, steel stocks saw substantial strength on the day amid news of additional Chinese stimulus, resulting in a 3.1 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. Significant strength was also visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain posted by the KBW Bank Index.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 331.58 points or 0.96 percent to 34,907.11, Nasdaq gained 112.47 points or 0.81 percent to 13,926.05 and S&P 500 was up by 37.66 points or 0.84 percent to 4,505.1.

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