ECB gives stocks a boost

Posted on Sep 6, 2012 in Business | 0 comments

U.S. stock indexes jumped higher Thursday after the European Central Bank unveiled a new bond buying program.

In an effort to shore up confidence in debt-burdened eurozone countries, the ECB said it would buy short-term bonds, but make the purchases available only to countries that adhered to international guidelines on fiscal discipline.

Stocks also found support from an Automatic Data Processing Inc. report that said 201,000 jobs were added to the private sector in August.

The figure beat the consensus forecast by 61,000 jobs.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 236.06 points, or 1.81 percent, to 13,283.54. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index added 63.06 points, or 2.05 percent, to 3,132.33. The Standard and Poor”s 500 added 27.55 points, or 1.96 percent, to 1,430.99.

The benchmark 10-year treasury fell 23/32 to yield 1.674 percent.

The euro rose to $1.2632 from Tuesday”s $1.26. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 78.93 yen from 78.39 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 255 index was flat, gaining 0.01 percent, 0.75 points, to 8,680.57.

In London, the FTSE 100 index added 2.11 percent, 119.48 points, to 5,777.34.

Copyright 2012 by United Press International