New York Report: Nasdaq reaches 14-year high as stocks rally
WALL Street rallied yesterday, with the Nasdaq closing at a 14-year high, as increasing confidence among home builders and hopes for receding tensions in Russia emboldened investors in the equity market.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 175.83 points, or 1.06 per cent, to close at 16,838.74. The S&P 500 rose 16.68 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 1,971.74. The Nasdaq Composite added 43.39 points, or 0.97 per cent, to close at 4,508.31.
Family Dollar was in play again just weeks after signing a deal to be taken over by Dollar Tree. Rival Dollar General made a counter-offer worth $9.7 billion, or $78.50 a share, $4 more than Family Dollar’s.
Sensors and electrical controls maker Sensata Technologies Holding said it would buy the Schrader group of companies in a transaction that valued the business at $1bn, including debt. Sensata shares rose 5.8 per cent to $48.84.
Although shares of Urban Outfitters gained 2.4 per cent to close at $36.92 ahead of the clothing retailer’s earnings report. However, after the quarterly results were published, shares fell 1.7 per cent in extended-hours trading.
Airline stocks soared as oil prices slid.
Shares of United Continental Holdings rose four per cent to $47.84 and shares of Southwest Airlines, the S&P’s third-biggest percentage gainer, climbed 3.6 per cent to $30.82.