US MARKET 24.7.2009

Stocks rallied Thursday, with the hitting its highest point since November, as investors welcomed better-than-expectedquarterly results and home sales. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 2.1% (+188.0 pts, close 9,069.3). The Nasdaqgained 2.5% (+47.2 pts, close 1,973.6) and the S&P 500 index gained 2.3% (+22.2 pts, close 976.3). In currency trading, thedollar gained against the euro and the Japanese yen. U.S. light crude oil for September delivery rose US$1.76 to settle atUS$67.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. (CNNmoney)

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Sales of existing homes in the U.S. rose in June for a third consecutive month, signalling the four-year slump thatprecipitated the financial crisis is ending. Purchases climbed 3.6% to an annual rate of 4.89m, stronger than forecast and thehighest level since October, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday in Washington. Sales gains buttress FederalReserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s remarks this week that the worst housing downturn in eight decades appears to bemoderating. Economists forecast existing-home sales would rise to a 4.84m rate from a previously reported 4.77m for May,according to the median of 68 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 4.7m to 5m. (Bloomberg)

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The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week from a six-month low asdistortions caused by shifts in the timing of auto-plant shutdowns subsided. Applications rose by 30,000 to 554,000 in the weekended July 18, in line with forecasts, figures from the Labour Department showed yesterday in Washington. Claims had fallenby 93,000 over the previous two weeks. The number of people collecting unemployment insurance decreased to the lowestlevel in three months, also reflecting seasonal issues surrounding closures at carmakers. (Bloomberg)