LONDON (SHARECAST) - US stocks moved higher as the Federal Reserve, as expected, kept interest rates on hold.
Across the markets, the Dow Jones added 43 points to 10,685. Nasdaq added 15 points to 2,378 and the S&P 500 gained 8 to 1,159.
Once again, the Federal Reserve said it expects interest rates will remain "exceptionally low" for an "extended period" of time, adding the US economy and jobs situation should improve. Inflation is expected to remain benign.
Elsewhere on the economic front, new home construction dropped 5.9% to an annual rate of 575,000 in February compared with an upwardly revised 622,000 in the previous month.
Building permits fell by 1.6% to 612,000 in February. Analysts were looking for an annual rate of 601,000.
The import price index decreased 0.3% in February, more than anticipated, compared with a revised 1.3% gain in January, according to the Labor Department.
General Electric dominated the company movers after it said earnings and dividend will both rise in 2011. Intel also rose after it shipped more than 100,000 units of its Xeon 5600 server chip.
Boston Scientific was higher even though Goldman Sachs downgraded the medical device maker to ‘sell’ after it stopped selling its implantable cardiac defibrillators because of an error in its filings with the FDA. Bid rumours boosted motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson.
S&P 500 - Risers
Harley Davidson (HOG) $28.35 +6.98%
Adv Micro Devices (AMD) $9.40 +5.38%
Motorola Inc. (MOT) $7.38 +4.98%
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF) $66.27 +4.94%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) $3.45 -3.90%
Western Union Compan (WU) $16.24 -2.81%
Eastman Kodak Co (EK) $5.95 -2.78%
Wyndham Worldwide (WYN) $24.07 -2.75%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
General Electric Co. (GE) $18.07 +4.51%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.00 +3.92%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $13.80 +2.15%
Du Pont E I De Nemours and Co. (DD) $35.94 +1.30%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Boeing Co. (BA) $68.72 -0.98%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $32.55 -0.43%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $63.53 -0.27%
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