Off the wire
• Top Chinese political advisor meets Zambian President  • Top Chinese legislator meets Australian governor-general  • News Analysis: Greek new gov't declares war on corruption, skepticism remains  • China welcomes Russia, Finland's applications to AIIB  • Robertson stunned, Ding ends first-round elimination at China Open  • Syrian refugees in Lebanon venture into trade as new source of income  • Ukraine proposes Russia to extend temporary gas deal  • Pakistan says no decision made to send troops to Saudi Arabia  • 2nd LD-Writethru-China Focus: China withdrawing more nationals from Yemen  • China shuts downs 66 golf courses  
You are here: 　 Home

U.S. stocks post solid gains with global shares

Xinhua, March 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

Wall Street joined global equity rallies in the morning session on Monday, as U.S. economic data came out positive.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 266.12 points, or 1.50 percent, to 17,978.78. The S&P 500 gained 23.39 points, or 1.13 percent, to 2,084.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 45.46 points, or 0.93 percent, to 4,936.68.

Overseas stock markets witnessed broad-based increases on Monday. Chinese equities refreshed their seven-year highs after China announced more details of the New Silk Road plan, with the Shanghai Composite Index soaring nearly 2.6 percent.

China unveiled on Saturday the principles, framework, and cooperation priorities and mechanisms in its Belt and Road Initiative in a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future together. Related shares of infrastructure, water conservation and transportation all ended the trading day with outstanding performances.

European shares closed sharply higher with the Germany's benchmark DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange rising 1.8 percent.

Investor sentiment was also buoyed by upbeat economic data. The U.S. Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 3.1 percent to 106.9 in February, its highest level since June 2013, said the National Association of Realtors Monday.

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday that personal income increased 0.4 percent in February from the previous month, beating market consensus of 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, consumer spending, which takes up more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, rose 11.8 billion dollar, or 0.1 percent.

In corporate news, UnitedHealth Group Inc. agreed to buy Catamaran Corp. for about 12.8 billion dollars. According to a statement released by the two companies, UnitedHealth will pay 61. 50 dollars a share, 27 percent higher than Catamaran's closing share price of 48.32 dollars last Friday. Shares of the former added 2.54 percent around midday on Monday, while the latter romped 23.96 percent.

In the previous session, U.S. stocks posted modest gains, snapping a four-day losing streak, as investors were digesting the final revision to the fourth quarter real gross domestic product. Endite