US: Stocks shake off weakness and push higher

[NEW YORK] Financial and technology shares were among the gainers early Tuesday as Wall Street stocks shook off recent weakness and pushed higher.

Analysts attributed the gains to bargain-hunting after stocks have been pressured due to unease about the US political outlook and Friday's summit of central bankers that could hearken a shift from easy-money policies since the 2008 financial crisis.

Bourses in Paris, Frankfurt and London also rose.

"We think market participants are simply cheered by the fact that there isn't any prevailing sense of negativity in the news this morning; hence, they see an opening to try their hand at buying the dip that has dented the major indices in recent weeks," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 21,805.38, up 0.5 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent to 2,441.32, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.7 per cent to 6,258.02.

Monsanto rose 0.1 per cent after the European Commission announced it would open an in-depth investigation into the agricultural giant's proposed US$66 billion takeover by Germany's Bayer due to antitrust concerns.

AFP