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1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks extend gains on upbeat data

Xinhua, July 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks continued to rise on Wednesday, as investors were encouraged by positive economic data while digesting the latest developments in Greece.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 138.40 points, or 0.79 percent, to 17,757.91. The S&P 500 gained 14.31 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,077.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 26.26 points, or 0.53 percent, to 5,013.12.

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 watch closely as a pre-indicator for the nonfarm payrolls report due Thursday.

Meanwhile, 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.A reading above 50 indicates growth, while a reading below 50 suggests contraction.

"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.

In Europe, the latest emergency Eurogroup talks on the long- anticipated Greek debt deal ended fruitless on Wednesday afternoon with creditors telling Athens that discussions would resume after Sunday's referendum on whether to accept the strict offers made by institutions last week.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis released shortly afterwards a statement presenting the leftist government's arguments for a "No" vote.

Greece is in arrears status to the International Monetary Fund, without a bailout safety net as from Tuesday at midnight, and banks have been shut and capital controls in place since Monday.

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.

In corporate news, General Motors Company's shares fell 0.87 percent to 33.04 U.S. dollars apiece on Wednesday after the car maker reported a 3-percent decline in its total sales for the month of June. Endite