US: Stocks finish higher on global market rebound

[NEW YORK] US stocks finished higher on Thursday, bouncing back from deep losses in the prior session following strong gains in Asian and European equity markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 33.20 points (0.19 per cent) to 17,548.62.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 4.63 (0.23 per cent) to 2,051.31, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.64 (0.26 per cent) at 4,922.40.

US stocks were in positive territory all day, but the gains eroded in the afternoon. The S&P 500 was up by nearly 30 points during its peak earlier in the session.

"What you're seeing today is a relief rally after a very bad day yesterday," said David Levy, portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management.

However, both the Greek debt crisis and the Chinese stock market retreat remain "headline risks," Mr Levy said.

Banking stocks were strong, including Dow member JPMorgan Chase (+1.0 per cent) and Bank of America (+1.4 per cent).

US-listed Chinese companies also rose, including e-commerce powers Alibaba (+1.4 per cent) and JD.com (+8.1 per cent).

Apple fell for the fifth straight session, this time by 2.0 per cent. Some analysts have said iPhone sales could be dented by slowing growth in China.

Fragrance and beauty company Coty fell 4.7 per cent after striking a deal to buy 43 beauty and fragrance brands from Procter & Gamble in a transaction that values the assets at about US$12.5 billion. Dow member P&G dropped 0.4 per cent.

Alcoa rose 0.9 per cent after reporting slightly higher second-quarter earnings behind strong demand from the aerospace and auto sectors. The aluminum producer confirmed its forecast for 6.5 per cent growth in aluminum demand in 2015.

Pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance jumped 4.2 per cent after reporting earnings for the quarter ending May 31 of US$1.02 per share, easily topping analyst forecasts for 87 cents per share.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.30 per cent from 2.20 per cent Wednesday, while the 30-year advanced to 3.10 per cent from 2.98 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

AFP