Investors are also cautious ahead of the government's August employment report on Friday. Many analysts consider unemployment the biggest obstacle facing a recovery in the economy because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.
The Labor Department said the number of people filing for unemployment claims fell last week by 4,000 to 570,000 while the number of those receiving benefits rose. Economists had been expecting a bigger drop and the report reminded investors that a recovery in employment will be difficult.
Recent economic reports have signaled modest improvement in areas like housing and manufacturing but economists caution that the economy remains weak.
The Institute for Supply Management said its service index, which covers hospitals, retailers, financial services companies and more, pushed closer to signaling growth in August but still indicated contraction for the 11th straight month.
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) was up 63.94 points, or 0.69 percent, at 9,344.61. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - News) was up 8.49 points, or 0.85 percent, at 1,003.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC - News) was up 16.13 points, or 0.82 percent, at 1,983.20.
No comments:
Post a Comment