Traders working the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on January 31, 2020 in New York, United States. — AFP pic
NEW YORK, Feb 5 — Wall Street stocks rose early today, advancing for the third straight session on receding fears about the new coronavirus and good US employment data.
Stocks have bounced following Friday’s rout over the spread of the SARS-like virus in China, with investors betting that the hit will be largely contained to China and the outbreak will not hinder growth for very long.
Markets were further propelled today when payrolls firm ADP reported that US companies added 291,000 jobs, much above expectations.
The report comes ahead of Friday’s important government jobs report.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 29,066.64, up 0.9 per cent.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.7 per cent to 3,321.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4 per cent to 9,507.92.
Among individual companies, Disney dipped 1.3 per cent despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly results fuelled by box office hits from its latest entries in the Star Wars and Frozen series.
The entertainment giant signalled that the coronavirus will drag on results in the current quarter, after shuttering its theme parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Ford sank nearly 10 per cent following a disappointing 2020 forecast, while General Motors gained 2.4 per cent as it reported better-than-expected profits despite a significant hit from a labor strike in the United States.
Another prominent auto company, Tesla, fell 8.0 per cent as some investors took profits after a stunning surge the last two sessions that lifted shares by more than 36 per cent. — AFP