Late Rally Pushes US Stocks Higher
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Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Despite sluggish early session activity, stocks rallied Friday, marking the fifth week of gains for the Dow and S&P. The Nasdaq logged its fourth weekly increase.
The Dow closed up 43 points, closing the week at 13,208. The S&P and the Nasdaq Composite added three points and two points, respectively.
U.S. stocks traded low in the earlier portion of Friday’s session. A drop in China’s trade surplus to $25.1 billion from $31.7 billion a month ago surprised the markets and economists who had initially projected an increase, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Even so, investor hopes about additional policy by central bank leaders to spur economic growth kept stocks edging up toward more weekly advancements.
JC Penney stock jumped more than three percent, after CEO Ron Johnson laid out more of his vision for turning around the struggling department store company. Movie studio Lions Gate rose three percent, on a revenue surge thanks to The Hunger Games.
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