U.S. stocks trade higher after economic data
Xinhua,February 17, 2018 Adjust font size:
NEW YORK, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded higher on Friday after posting sharp gains in the previous five sessions, as investors were digesting the latest economic data.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 137.12 points, or 0.54 percent, to 25,337.49. The S&P 500 increased 13.70 points, or 0.50 percent, to 2,744.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 24.69 points, or 0.34 percent, to 7,281.12.
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday that privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.326 million, 9.7 percent above the revised December estimate of 1.209 million.
The latest reading marked the highest level since October 2016 and beat market expectations.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan's mid-month report on U.S. consumer sentiment showed that the index rose to 99.9 in February, 4.4 percent higher than the previous month and registered as its second-highest level since 2004, beating market consensus.
The major indices closed sharply higher on Thursday after choppy trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 306.88 points and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained over 1 percent. Enditem