Unaffected: US stocks finish higher despite fears
investors weighed the implications of escalating sectarian violence in Iraq that has lifted oil prices
NEW YORK:
US stocks finished higher as investors weighed the implications of escalating sectarian violence in Iraq that has lifted oil prices to nine-month highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 41.55 points (0.25%) to 16,775.74. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 6.05 (0.31%) at 1,936.16, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 13.02 (0.30%) to 4,310.65. Iraq remained at the centre of attention as Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged the people to defend the country against while President Barack Obama said he was examining options short of sending in US troops. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July rose 38 cents to close at $106.91 a barrel, a fresh nine-month high. Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities, said the market remains in a bullish uptrend and that Iraq will not significantly affect that sentiment.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2014.
US stocks finished higher as investors weighed the implications of escalating sectarian violence in Iraq that has lifted oil prices to nine-month highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 41.55 points (0.25%) to 16,775.74. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 6.05 (0.31%) at 1,936.16, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 13.02 (0.30%) to 4,310.65. Iraq remained at the centre of attention as Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged the people to defend the country against while President Barack Obama said he was examining options short of sending in US troops. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July rose 38 cents to close at $106.91 a barrel, a fresh nine-month high. Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities, said the market remains in a bullish uptrend and that Iraq will not significantly affect that sentiment.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2014.