THE NEW YORK REPORT
US STOCKS rose yesterday, helping the Dow post its fifth straight monthly gain, on hopes that possible fallout from Dubai’s debt woes will be contained.
Shortly before the market closed, Dubai’s largest company said its planned restructuring of some units involved Bk in debt, easing some concerns about the size of Dubai’s financial problems.
An index of bank stocks rose more than 3 per cent as investors bet bank exposure to Dubai’s debt problems would be limited.
“It appears the market is coming to the conclusion that Dubai is a small, localized event,” said Charles Lieberman, chief investment officer of Advisors Capital Management, in Paramus, New Jersey.
Retail shares limited the advance as investors worried that the holiday shopping season might have gotten off to a tepid start. Black Friday data suggested weak sales during retailers’ most important sales period and underscored concerns about the economy.
Black Friday, or the Friday after the US Thanksgiving Day holiday, is seen as the start of the US holiday shopping period and buyers typically flood the stores that day searching for bargains.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 34.92 points, or 0.34 per cent, to end at 10,344.84. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 4.14 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 1,095.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.16 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 2,144.60.
For the Dow Jones industrial average, this marked its fifth-straight month of gains.