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Roundup: U.S. stocks post sizable gains on Fed minutes

Xinhua, October 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks reversed early losses to end higher Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average on a five-day winning streak for the first time in 2015, as Wall Street assessed minutes of the Federal Reserve's September meeting.

The Dow added 138.46 points, or 0.82 percent, to 17,050.75. The S&P 500 gained 17.60 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,013.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 19.64 points, or 0.41 percent, to 4,810.79.

According to the minutes, the information reviewed for the Sept. 16-17 meeting suggested that U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) was expanding at a moderate pace in the third quarter.

Domestic financial conditions, however, tightened modestly as concerns about prospects for global economic growth prompted an increase in financial market volatility and a deterioration in risk sentiment during the period.

"Many (officials) acknowledged that recent global economic and financial developments may have increased the downside risks to economic activity somewhat," the minutes said.

On the economic front, in the week ending Oct. 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims decreased 13,000 from the previous week's revised level to 263,000, below market consensus of 271,000, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 267,500, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average.

Meanwhile, a strong rebound in oil prices also provided some upward jolts to the stock market. The energy sector jumped 1.89 percent Thursday as the greatest advancer in the S&P 500.

Overseas, Chinese shares surged Thursday after the country's seven-day National Day holiday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rising 2.97 percent, as investor sentiment was buoyed by a broad-based rally in global stock markets.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, decreased 5.33 percent to end at 17.42 on Thursday.

In other markets, the U.S. dollar decreased against most major currencies as investors were digesting the newly released Federal Reserve minutes.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1272 dollars from 1.1252 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 119.96 Japanese yen, higher than 119.92 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange retreated on profit taking after it closed Wednesday at its highest settlement since Sept. 24.

The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 4.40 dollars, or 0.38 percent, to settle at 1,144.30 dollars per ounce. Endit