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U.S. stocks rally on upbeat data

Xinhua, July 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks traded higher in the morning session on Wednesday, as investors were encouraged by positive economic data while digesting the latest developments in Greece.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 118.65 points, or 0.67 percent, to 17,738.16. The S&P 500 increased 12.94 points, or 0.63 percent, to 2,076.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 29. 81 points, or 0.60 percent, to 5,016.67.

U.S. private sector employment added 237,000 jobs from May to June, beating market expectations of 220,000, according to the June ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday.

The ADP figure is seen as a pre-indicator for the highly- focused nonfarm payrolls report due Thursday.

Meanwhile, U.S. economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in June for the 30th consecutive month. The June manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) registered 53.5 percent, an increase of 0.7 percentage point over the May reading of 52.8 percent, slightly above market estimates, said the Institute Supply Management (ISM) in its monthly survey.

"In the near future, manufacturing is likely to continue to mirror the dollar's relative value to our trading partners, the euro being the most important. For real-time updates on the health of the manufacturing sector, keep an eye on the EUR/USD exchange rate," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

The Greek government revealed on Wednesday its latest proposal for a debt deal with creditors to stave off a default and Grexit in coming weeks.

It dismissed media reports claiming the government fully accepts lenders' offer ahead of a crucial Eurogroup teleconference rescheduled for Wednesday evening.

Athens' draft deal, which was submitted as Greece was declared in arrears to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday midnight, sought a new two-year loan to deal with financing problems through the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), and requested a further restructuring of Greek debt.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that there would be no negotiation over a new bailout program to Greece before the country's referendum on Sunday, though the door for talks remained open. Endite