Tuesday, 17 March 2015 01:47
NEW YORK: US stocks plowed higher Monday as the dollar retreated and the market looked ahead to a Federal Reserve policy decision in the next two days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average bolted up 228.11 points (1.29 percent) to 17,977.42.
The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 27.79 (1.35 percent) to 2,081.19, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 57.75 (1.19 percent) to 4,929.51.
The dollar’s recent gains have raised worries about the drag on US multinationals, but on Monday the euro rose slightly against the greenback, to $ 1.0590 from $ 1.0489 Friday.
Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, said data showing tepid growth of just 0.1 percent in US industrial production in February likely lifted confidence the Fed would take a cautious approach to raising near-zero interest rates, probably deciding to hike them later rather than sooner.
The Fed’s two-day monetary policy meeting begins Tuesday.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International rose 2.5 percent after lifting its offer for Salix Pharmaceuticals from $ 158 per share to $ 173 per share, pushing out rival bidder Endo International. Salix gained 2.0 percent, while Endo rose 2.7 percent.
Biotech company Amgen jumped 5.7 percent as it released promising clinical research for its Repatha medication for lowering cholesterol. Other pharma companies also rose, including Celgene (+2.6 percent) and Gilead Sciences (+1.7 percent).
Dow component Procter & Gamble jumped 2.1 percent on a report that it is considering the sale or initial public offering of some beauty brands.
Dow component DuPont dropped 4.3 percent following a downgrade by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.08 percent from 2.12 percent Friday, while the 30-year slid to 2.65 percent from 2.70 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2015
