NEW YORK: Wall Street ended with modest gains Monday as a rebound at the end of a calm session helped the market keep momentum from a powerful two-week rally.A stronger-than-expected report on new home sales offered further evidence of economic recovery, helping the market overcome early profit taking.The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 15.27 points (0.17 per cent) at 9,108.51, building on two weeks of solid gains.The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite edged up 1.93 points (0.10 per cent) to 1,967.89 and the broad Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 2.92 points (0.30 per cent) to 982.18.
The indexes drifted lower for most of the day as some investors booked profits from the 11 per cent surge in the broad market in the past two weeks.But a report showing new US home sales leapt 11 per cent in June provided a further sign of recovery for the sector at the epicenter of the global financial crisis.
“Today’s upbeat read on new home sales follows a string of indicators pointing to stabilisation in the US housing market,” said Josh Heller, economist at RBC Capital Markets.“We believe that quarterly economic growth will return to positive territory during the course of the second half of this year.” -- AFP