Indexes on Wall Street rose on Friday, after European markets moved higher, but gold prices set a new record as investors weighed the chances that a market rally would continue.
Shares rose after a stronger-than-expected increase in orders for manufactured goods in August. The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods, fell 1.3 percent in August, slightly more than analysts’ predictions, but that was after an upward revision to the previous month. But orders rose 2 percent after the volatile transportation component was excluded. The 2 percent rise in August was twice the amount expected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
“The August report on the demand for long-lasting goods indicates that capital spending continues to be a positive contributor to overall economic growth in the U.S. even as consumer spending and housing demand raise concerns about the strength of the economic expansion,” Cliff Waldman, an economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, said.
Full story: Wall Street Jumps on Durable Goods Report – NYTimes.com
Rising global food prices spark fears