US stocks soar on stimulus hopes

NEW YORK: US stocks surged higher for a second straight day Friday,
pushing the Dow above 13,000 for the first time since May, on hopes for
US and European stimulus to jump-start frail economies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 13,075.66, up a hefty 187.73 points (1.46 per cent).

The
SandP 500-stock added 25.95 points (1.91 per cent) at 1,385.97 and the
tech-rich Nasdaq leaped 64.84 (2.24 per cent) to 2,958.09.

A
slightly better-than-expected number on US growth in the second quarter
still underlined the snail's pace of the world's largest economy,
fueling speculation about additional support from the Federal Reserve.

The
government's announcement that gross domestic product grew 1.5 per cent
in the April-June period, after 2.0 per cent in the prior quarter, sent
shares skyward.

"That is lousy, but expectations had dropped so
low that the spin is coming out as 'not too bad,'" said Dick Green at
Briefing.com.

It also helped push the Dow over the psychological
barrier of 13,000 for the first time since May 7, when it closed at
13,008.53.

The leaders of Germany and France, Europe's two
biggest economies, vowed to preserve the embattled eurozone amid a
sovereign debt crisis.

In a joint statement, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande pledged to do
"everything to protect the eurozone."

Their show of force helped
to maintain momentum in the markets a day after European Central Bank
chief Mario Draghi's pledge to do "whatever it takes" to save the euro
fueled global stock rallies.

Merck shares jumped 4.1 per cent,
leading the 30-stock Dow higher. The drugmaker posted an 11 per cent
fall in earnings, beating market estimates.

Fellow Dow blue-chip Chevron rose 0.9 per cent after the oil giant reported better-than-expected quarterly profit.

Investors
unfriended Facebook. Shares plunged 11.7 per cent after the world's
social media leader reported disappointing first earnings as a public
company amid concerns about how it intends to grow profits from mobile
products.

Amazon leaped 7.9 per cent after the online retailer
said profit in the second quarter shrank 96 per cent, generally in line
with expectations.

Delta Air Lines inched up 0.1 per cent after
announcing it was closing regional carrier Comair on September 29,
resulting in the loss of 1,700 jobs. -- AFP