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Roundup: U.S. stocks end higher amid rate hike comments

Xinhua, November 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks ticked up Friday, as investors digested several Federal Reserve officials' remarks on the timing of an interest rate rise.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 91.06 points, or 0.51 percent, to 17,823.81. The S&P 500 added 7.93 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,089.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 31.28 points, or 0.62 percent, to 5,104.92.

With no major economic data due Friday, Wall Street mainly focused on remarks about rate hikes from the Fed's policymakers.

After Thursday's closing bell, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said that some major central banks could move away from near-zero interest rate policy in the relatively near future.

New York Fed President William Dudley said Friday that the Fed may soon reach goals needed for liftoff but timing is still data-dependent and that he hopes to see evidence of rising inflation soon.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the U.S. central bank will return to an era where there is more uncertainty on interest rate moves on a meeting-by-meeting basis after an initial rate hike.

According to the minutes from the Fed's October meeting, most participants anticipated that it would be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate at its next meeting, given the improving economic conditions.

In corporate news, shares of Nike surged 5.46 percent to 132.65 U.S. dollars apiece Friday after the company increased its dividend by 14 percent, declared a 2-for-1 stock split, and posted a 12-billion-dollar stock buyback plan.

For the week, the blue-chip Dow surged 3.4 percent, and the broader S&P 500 jumped 3.3 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared 3.6 percent.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, decreased 8.95 percent to end at 15.47 on Friday.

In other markets, U.S. oil price dropped as market expected the supply to exceed the demand.

The U.S. dollar increased against the euro as the Fed was on track to raise interest rates while its counterpart in Europe planned to unleash further stimulus.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell as the U.S. dollar strengthened, putting pressure on the precious metal.

The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 1.6 dollars, or 0.15 percent, to settle at 1,076.30 dollars per ounce. Enditem