Data Boosts Stocks, Dow Up 71

Fed reports an increase in business activity
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 20, 2009 3:30 PM CDT
Data Boosts Stocks, Dow Up 71
Traders Richard Genna, foreground left, and Daniel Tandy work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in this undated file photo.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Stocks advanced today on positive economic news from the Philadelphia branch of the Fed, the Wall Street Journal reports, which said that its index of business activity registered a 4.2 in August, up from a negative 7.5 in July. Investors were specifically encouraged by a rise in the Fed’s subindex of inventories after 22 straight months of decline, a reverse that signals increasing production. The Dow closed up 71 points at 9,350. The Nasdaq gained 20 points to close at 1,989, and the S&P 500 added 11 points, settling at 1,007.
(More Dow Jones stories.)

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