28/09 Wall Street trims gains amid concerns over Greece bailout

English.news.cn   2011-09-28 06:10:39

A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, the United States, on Sept. 27, 2011. The U.S. stocks significantly cut early gains but still finished higher for the third straight session on Tuesday as investors were expecting that European leaders were coming closer to a plan which can help Greece avert a default on its debt. (Xinhua/Fan Xia)

NEW YORK, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -The U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday amid euro zone hopes, with three major indexes rising over 1 percent, despite shares came off their best levels of the day.

The stocks opened higher with three major indexes jumping over 2 percent on euro zone hopes, but then dropped a lot in the final hour of trading, as reports said that some euro zone members disagreed with Greece bailout plan.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 146.83 points, or 1.33 percent, to 11,190.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up 12.43 points, or 1.07 percent, to 1,175.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 30.14 points, or 1.20 percent, to 2,546.83. "Tuesday market' s dramatic performance was because of euro zone situation, "said Stephen J. Guilfoyle, institutional sales trader of Meridian Equity. According to him, right now the U.S. stocks were traded on events, not on fundamentals any more.

That was why two important economic data released on Tuesday failed to attract much attention from investors.

The U.S. consumer confidence recovered slightly in September, but still stayed low as consumers were concerned about the economic outlook, according to figures released by the Conference Board on Tuesday.

The Board said its consumer confidence index was at 45.4 in September, up slightly from a more than-2-year low of 44.5 in August. However, the figure was below economist' previous estimation of 46.

The Board bases its index on results of a survey it conducts the first half of each month with 5,000 of randomly selected households nationwide. A reading above 90 indicates the economy is on solid footing, while above 100 signals strong growth.

Meanwhile, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices, U.S. home prices in 20 metropolitan areas nationwide, including New York, Miami and Boston, increased by 0.9 percent in July, the fourth consecutive monthly increase and a sign of the seasonal strength in the housing market.

However, home prices still fell 4.1 percent year-on-year, underscoring the headwinds the housing market was still facing amid tepid economic growth and high unemployment rate.

In the money market, the U.S. dollar fell against most major currencies in late New York trading on Tuesday. The dollar index lost 0.87 percent to 77.68.

Also boosted by Euro hopes, light, sweet crude for November delivery soared 4.21 dollars, or 5.25 percent to 84.45 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for November delivery surged 3.20 dollars, or 3.08 percent and close at 107.14 dollars a barrel.