US: Stocks rise after Yellen affirms coming rate hike

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks opened higher Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she still expects to raise interest rates in 2015.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 16,383.82, up 182.50 points (1.13 per cent).

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 14.43 (0.75 per cent) to 1,946.67, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 39.15 (0.83 per cent) to 4,773.62.

Ms Yellen said late Thursday that the Fed will continue to monitor weakness in overseas economies, but that an increase in benchmark interest rates is "likely" later this year. She said conditions in the US "generally appear solid."

Supporting that, the Commerce Department reported that the US economy grew at a peppy 3.9 per cent rate in the second quarter, up from the 3.7 per cent growth previously estimated.

AFP