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Roundup: U.S. stocks close higher amid earnings, data

Xinhua, February 27, 2017 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks closed higher for the week amid earnings reports and treasury secretary's remarks.

For the week, all three major indices posted gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index going up 0.96 percent, 0.69 percent and 0.12 percent, respectively.

The market was closed on Monday for the President's Day holiday.

On Tuesday, the Dow was up 118.95 points, or 0.58 percent, to 20,743.00. The S&P 500 rose 14.22 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2,365.38. The Nasdaq gained 27.37 points, or 0.47 percent, to 5,865.95.

Data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the fourth quarter of 2016 are expected to rise 7.5 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to increase 4.3 percent.

On the economic front, the flash read on the Markit U.S. purchasing managers' index hit 54.3 for February, falling slightly from January' s 55.8.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, increased 0.70 percent to end at 11.57 on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range and ended mixed, as Wall Street digested the minutes of the Federal Reserve' s latest meeting.

The Dow was up 32.60 points, or 0.16 percent, to 20,775.60. The S&P 500 lost 2.56 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,362.82. The Nasdaq shed 5.32 points, or 0.09 percent, to 5,860.63.

Fed officials expressed their confidence in the economy and viewed next interest rate hike would be "fairly soon," minutes of the Fed's latest session showed.

On Thursday, the Dow was up 34.72 points, or 0.17 percent, to 20,810.32. The S&P 500 rose 0.99 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,363.81. The Nasdaq shed 25.12 points, or 0.43 percent, to 5,835.51.

Treasury Secretary Steven Munchin said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday that he wanted to see a "very significant" tax reform passed before the Congress'August recess.

"We've been working closely with the leadership in the House and the Senate and we're looking at a combined plan," he said.

U.S. equities have posted sharp gains since Trump won the presidential election last November, as investors bet that he would pursue massive corporate tax cuts, deregulation and infrastructure spending.

On Friday, the Dow notched its 11th straight record high, closing up 11.44 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2.821.76.

The S&P 500 rose 3.53 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,367.34. The Nasdaq gained 9.80 points or 0.17 percent, to 5,845.31.

Sales of new single-family houses in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 555,000, according to U.S. Commerce Department on Friday.

This is 3.7 percent above the revised December rate of 535,000 but still lower than market consensus of 576,000.

The final reading of consumer sentiment for February decreased to 96.3 from 98.5 in January, said the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment on Friday. Endit