US: Stocks rise on solid data, car sales

[NEW YORK] US stocks rose early on Friday following solid US manufacturing data and auto sales, as market attention shifted from the British vote to leave the EU.

Data from the Institute for Supply Management's PMI report showed stronger-than-expected manufacturing activity in June. Shares of both Ford and General Motors rose after releasing June US auto sales numbers.

Over the past three days, US stocks have recovered most of the losses from the rout after Britain's June 23 referendum resulted in a shock decision to leave the EU. Analysts do not expect the US economy to be as significantly impacted as that of Britain or Europe.

About 40 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,976.52 up 0.3 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.3 per cent at 2,105.88, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.6 per cent to 4,469.08.

AFP