US: Stocks rise for 4th straight day

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks rose again Friday following better-than-expected US manufacturing data as worries about the British exit from the European Union continued to recede.

The Institute for Supply Management said its purchasing managers index for manufacturing activity rose to an unexpectedly strong 53.2 in June from 51.3 in May.

Friday marked the fourth straight day of gains for US stocks after an initial two-day slide following the surprise Brexit vote.

The Brexit "is not a bullish event," said Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management.

"But you've triggered this massive dose of liquidity."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.1 per cent to 17,949.37.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent to 2,102.95, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composit Index climbed 0.4 per cent to 4,862.57.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise rose 1.4 per cent after a California jury awarded it US$3.1 billion from software giant Oracle in damages after HPE sued Oracle for not providing support services. Oracle lost 0.2 per cent.

Tesla Motors rose 2.0 per cent despite news that US auto-safety regulators were probing a fatal crash involving a Tesla sedan operating in a self-driving mode. Global Equities Research said the incident was "sad" but a "non-event" from a stock perspective.

Shares of health insurers Humana and Aetna fell 3.3 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively. on reports the companies may need to divest major assets to win approval of their US$37 billion merger.

Chip company Micron Technology sank 9.2 per cent after reporting a net loss of US$215 million for the fiscal third quarter. Micron said it would cut jobs in response to tough business conditions.

Netflix jumped 5.7 per cent after Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage of the streaming video company with a "buy" based on a strong long-term outlook for international growth.

AFP