Wall Street posts 1st weekly gain in more than a month
Wall Street posted its first weekly gain in more than a month as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke raised hopes for more stimulus for the economy at the US central bank's September meeting.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 134.72 points, or 1.21 percent, at 11,284.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 17.53 points, or 1.51 percent, at 1,176.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 60.22 points, or 2.49 percent, at 2,479.85.
For the week, the Dow rose 4.3 percent, the S&P gained 4.7 percent and the Nasdaq rose 5.9 percent.
Britain's top shares ended just in the red, with banks weaker after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stopped short of signalling more action to boost US growth, disappointing those betting on fresh stimulus.
The FTSE 100 closed down 1.18 points at 5,129.92, having recovered from a low of 5,014.79 shortly after the remarks, as UK investors wound down for a three-day holiday weekend.
Japan's Nikkei average ticked up on bargain-hunting and marked its first weekly gain in five weeks, with investors awaiting a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for clues on what steps the US central bank will take to support the economy.
The benchmark Nikkei rose 0.3 percent to 8,797.78 for a weekly gain of 0.9 percent. It hit a five-month low of 8,619.21 earlier this week. The broader Topix index gained 0.6 percent to 756.07.
COMMENTS >
