Wall Street buoyed by labour market data

Dow Jones: 11,961.52 (+64.25) Nasdaq: 2,630.70 (–7.76) SP 500: 1,267.64 (+2.22)US STOCKS rebounded yesterday, a day after the Standard and Poor's 500 Index fell to a three-month low, as better than estimated housing starts and jobless claims data tempered concern about a slowdown in the economy.

A gauge of home builders in SP indexes rallied 1.6 per cent as 11 of its 12 stocks gained.

Kroger added 4.5 per cent after the largest US grocery chain raised its full-year profit forecast.

Southern Union soared 18 per cent as Energy Transfer Equity agreed to buy it for $4.2 billion.

JPMorgan and Citigroup fell at least 0.7 per cent amid concern big banks will face larger capital increases to comply with proposed international regulations.

American Express rose 2.4 per cent to $48.42, helping to bolster the blue-chip average

The SP 500 increased 0.2 per cent to 1,267.64 in New York.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 64.25 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 11,961.52.

The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 7.76 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 2,623.70.

Losses were contained, however, as investors looked for value after the recent sell-off. The Dow finished the volatile day with a modest gain and the Nasdaq retraced some ground after falling slightly more than 1 per cent in late afternoon trading.

“We’re bullish,” said Linda Duessel, the Pittsburgh-based equity market strategist at Federated Investors.

“The market doesn’t believe we’re going into a recession. It’s a soft patch. There isn’t any really serious bad news. There isn’t any serious good news. We should bounce back, but we’ll be in the 1,250 to 1,300 for a while,” she said.

Greece kept a pall over investor sentiment, even though experts say US banks’ exposure to Greek debt may be smaller than many market participants fear.

Still, the market needs resolution of the situation soon, as the lack of a deal to resolve the Greek debt crisis stifles investor confidence and curbs the market’s advance.

“The big headline is Greece, and it’s going to continue to be Greece until there is some clarity or conviction that comes out of there,” said Jonathan Corpina, head of NYSE floor operations for Meridian Equity Partners in New York. – (Bloomberg/Reuters)