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U.S. stocks end higher as lower oil offers relief
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 08 - 09 - 2006


U.S. stocks rebounded from two
days of losses to end higher on Friday, as a week-long fall in
oil prices and reassuring comments from a Fed official about
inflation outweighed further signs of housing-market weakness, according to Reuters.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has struggled with lackluster
sales growth during the summer-long spike in gasoline prices,
gained 2.6 percent to a two-month high as oil prices fell for a
fifth straight day. Wal-Mart's moderate-income customer base
had been particularly susceptible to the high cost of gas.
Lennar Corp., the No. 3 U.S. home builder, became the
latest in that industry to warn of weakness in the U.S. housing
market after it lowered its quarterly earnings estimate. Its
shares fell 1.3 percent to $42.71 on the New York Stock
Exchange.
"Everyone has been so worried about housing prices this
week and whether that will put us into a recession, but now
with oil and commodity prices coming in, for companies that are
so dependent on energy, this will help their earnings," said
Anthony Conroy, head trader at BNY Brokerage, a unit of Bank of
New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended 60.67 points higher,
or up 0.54 percent, to 11,392.11. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index gained 4.90 points, or 0.38 percent, to 1,298.92. The
Nasdaq Composite Index added 10.50 points, or 0.49 percent, to
2,165.79.
For the week, the Nasdaq ended down 1.3 percent, the Dow
finished 0.6 percent lower and the S&P lost 0.9 percent. For
both the Nasdaq and S&P it was the worst close in four weeks.
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Sandra Pianalto said
the full impact of the Fed's two years of interest rate
increases, aimed at controlling inflation, have not been fully
felt in the economy.
U.S. crude ended down $1.07 at $66.25 a barrel, after
falling earlier to a five-month low, dropping on ample
inventories and news that BP might be able to restore its
Alaskan oil field sooner than expected.
Shares of Wal-Mart rose 2.6 percent to $46.72, making them
the top-weighted gainer on the S&P 500. Meanwhile,
energy-related shares dominated the bottom end of the index,
with companies such as National Oilwell Varco and XTO Energy
Inc. down more than 4 percent.
U.S. credit reporting bureau Equifax Inc. said it raised
its 2006 earnings forecast, sending its shares surging more
than 12 percent to $36.34 on the NYSE.
Amazon.com rose a day after it unveiled a widely
anticipated Internet service offering movies and TV shows that
can be downloaded to personal computers. Its shares advanced
2.6 percent to $30.51.
Shares of Broadcom Corp. fell 1.3 percent to $26.09 on
Nasdaq after the microchip maker said it had found more
irregularities in the dates of past stock option grants.
Trading was light on the NYSE, with about 1.31 billion
shares changing hands, below last year's daily average of 1.61
billion, while on Nasdaq, about 1.49 billion shares traded,
below last year's daily average of 1.80 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 8
to 5 on the NYSE and by 6 to 5 on Nasdaq.


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