Wall Street closes mixed to end July higher, Dow hits record intraday high

NEW YORK, July 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks finished mixed after volatile trading on Wednesday to end the month on a strong note, after the U.S. Federal Reserve put its monetary policy in place.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time intraday high of 15,634.32 points, before falling 21.05 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 15,499.54 points. The S&P 500 edged down 0.23 points, or 0.01 percent, to 1,685.73 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 9.90 points, or 0.27 percent, to 3,626.37 points.

For the month, the Dow advanced 4.0 percent and the S&P rose 4. 9 percent while the Nasdaq climbed 6.6 percent. All the three stock indices logged the best July since 2010.

The Fed decided to continue purchasing securities at a pace of 85 billion dollars per month, but is prepared to increase or reduce the pace of its purchases to maintain appropriate policy accommodation depending on economic situations, according to a statement following the Fed two-day policy making meeting.

The market gyrated, responding to the statement as the central bank described the economic activity in the first half of the year as expanding at a modest pace, a downgrade from what was described as "moderate" in its June statement. Fed officials also expressed concerns over rising mortgage rates.

"The FOMC statement contains no policy changes and no changes in forward guidance. But the Fed's description of the economic environment changed in a way suggesting they are a little less impressed with the recent performance of the economy but remain optimistic about the future," FTN Financial Chief Economist Christopher Low said in a note on Wednesday.

The market picked up steam in earlier trading session from positive economic data. The U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the second quarter of 2013, according to the "advance" estimate released Wednesday by the Commerce Department. Analysts had forecast 1.1 percent.

However, real GDP in the first quarter increased at a revised 1. 1 percent rate, down from the previous estimate of 1.8 percent, the department said.

Private-sector employment increased by 200,000 jobs in July, up from June's upwardly revised figure of 198,000, according to a report released by payroll processor Automatic Data Processing. Analysts polled by Bloomberg expected the private sector to add 179,000 jobs in July.

Moreover, the Chicago Business Barometer beat market consensus. The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index increased to 52.3 in July from 51.6 in June, according to the Institute for Supply Management.

In corporate news, Facebook shares lost 2.20 percent to close at 36.80 dollars after surpassing its Initial Public Offering price of 38 dollars a share shortly after the opening bell for the first time.

Mass media Comcast on Wednesday reported net income of 1.7 billion dollars in the second quarter, up 29 percent from 1.3 billion dollars in the prior year. Its per-share earnings in the quarter were 65 cents a share, topping analysts' estimates of 63 cents. Comcast shares rose 5.55 percent to 45.08 dollars a share.

Most key S&P 500 sectors closed in red territory, among which telecoms fell the most. While consumer discretionary and energy advanced.

The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered as a fear gauge of the market, increased 0.45 percent to end at 13.45.

On the previous trading day, the U.S. stocks closed mixed as U. S. home prices in May logged the biggest year-over-year increase in over seven years.

In other markets, oil prices advanced on Wednesday after the U. S. economic growth was higher than expected in the second quarter of the year. Light, sweet crude for September delivery went up 1. 95 dollars to settle at 105.03 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. While Brent for September delivery increased 79 cents to close at 107.70 dollars a barrel.

Gold future for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 11.8 dollars to settle at 1,313 dollars per ounce on Wednesday.

The U.S. dollar fell against most major currencies on Wednesday after the Fed gave no hint on when to reduce its monetary easing measures. In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.3333 dollars from 1.3264 dollars of the previous session and the dollar bought 97.73 Japanese yen, lower than 97.97 yen of the previous session.

Source:English.news.cn   2013-08-01 05:39:21