After an upbeat report on services industries and more takeover news Wall Street stocks rallied for a fourth consecutive day but the world’s most-watched stock indices stumbled at the end of trade.

The Institute for Supply Management said its services index for February rose to 53 from 50.5 in January. Economists had forecast a rise to 51. Growth in services industries is seen as crucial for an economic rebound.

A steady stream of corporate deals also gave more support to the market, as was the case earlier in the week. In the latest deal, private equity firm Elliott Associates offered to buy the 91.5 per cent of software maker Novell Inc that it doesn’t already own.

Acquisitions signal that businesses are confident in the economy and see some companies as undervalued.

Separately, a report on the labor market didn’t come in below expectations. Payroll company ADP said employers cut 20,000 jobs last month, matching forecasts from economists.

The Labor Department is expected to report on Friday that the unemployment rate edged up to 9.8 per cent last month and that employers cut 50,000 jobs.

Concern about the economy eased after debt-burdened Greece announced plans to trim spending, as expected. The plan creates $US6.5 billion ($A7.2 billion) in savings. Investors have been trying to determine whether problems there will spill over into other economies.

In mid-afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 7.41 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 10,413.39.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index had added 2.09 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 1120.4 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 3.03 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 2283.82.

European stock markets were buoyed by positive US economic data and the latest Greek austerity package, which received a positive European Union response.

Dealers said news that the massive US services sector grew faster than expected in February and that the US private sector shed the smallest number of jobs in two years in the same month, boosted confidence.

Remarks by EU officials on Greece’s latest measures to trim its public deficit back to eurozone norms were taken positively, suggesting European powerhouse Germany will now agree to some form of EU aid for Athens.

The news leads combined helped push Wall Street higher, setting the example for the European markets to follow in the afternoon.

In London, the main FTSE 100 index closed 49.15 points higher, up 0.9 per cent, to 5533.21 points.

Germany’s DAX gained 41.32 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 5,817.88 points. In France, the CAC 40 gained 30.6 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 3842.52 points.

Commodities

Oil prices rose above $US80 a barrel as the US dollar weakened and refineries increased production ahead of the traditionally busy summer driving season.

Benchmark crude for April delivery finished $US1.19 higher when markets settled after the close of trade, at $US80.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Prices increased early in the day after Greece announced measures to tame its deficit.

Oil prices rallied despite an Energy Information Administration report that said US oil and gasoline stockpiles grew more than expected.

Gold for April delivery gained $US5.90 to settle at $US1143.30 an ounce.

Silver for May delivery gained 26.5 US cents to $US17.329 an ounce. May copper rose 2.35 US cents to $US3.435 per pound.

Global Market Indexes





Americas
Price
Change (%)
1 Year %
Last Updated



Toronto Composite
11826.68

-1.63 (-0.01%)


+53.84%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Mexican Bolsa IPC Index
32322.13

+267.09 (0.83%)


+90.92%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Brazil Bovespa Index
67667.21

-111.95 (-0.17%)


+86.75%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Argentina Merval Index
2291.39

+5.67 (0.25%)


+142.80%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Chile IPSA Index
3706.53

-53.86 (-1.43%)


+53.81%

Mar 03, 3:00pm








Asian Pacific
Price
Change (%)
1 Year %
Last Updated



Nikkei 225 Index
10253.14

+31.30 (0.31%)


+40.84%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



ASX All Ordinaries
4743.80

+0.00 (0.00%)


+48.07%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Seoul Composite
1622.44

+7.32 (0.45%)


+59.25%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Hong Kong Hang Seng
20876.79

-29.32 (-0.14%)


+69.49%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Shanghai
3097.00

+23.90 (0.78%)


+47.94%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Taiwan Weighted
7629.52

+31.90 (0.42%)


+72.39%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Singapore Straits Times
2782.79

+10.59 (0.38%)


+81.48%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Bombay Sensex Index
17000.01

+0.00 (0.00%)


+97.51%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Jakarta Composite
2567.09

+0.00 (0.00%)


+104.37%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Kuala Lumpur Composite
1286.10

-1.97 (-0.15%)


+46.72%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



PSE Composite
3069.29

+7.40 (0.24%)


+65.33%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Sri Lanka All Share
3774.03

-46.63 (-1.22%)


+125.76%

Mar 03, 3:00pm








Europe
Price
Change (%)
1 Year %
Last Updated



FTSE 100 Index
5533.21

+49.15 (0.90%)


+52.61%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Paris CAC 40
3842.52

+30.60 (0.80%)


+48.85%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Frankfurt Index
5817.88

+41.32 (0.72%)


+56.81%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Milan BCI General
15743.00

+0.00 (0.00%)


+33.23%

Mar 02, 5:30pm



Belgium 20 Index
2592.56

+33.79 (1.32%)


+60.97%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Swiss Market Index
6813.16

-6.88 (-0.10%)


+53.51%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



OSE Norway All Share
410.26

+2.54 (0.62%)


+64.63%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



ATX Vienna
2456.98

-13.93 (-0.56%)


+73.34%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Amsterdam Total Return General
331.86

+3.62 (1.10%)


+58.91%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Madrid General
1107.56

+14.90 (1.36%)


+44.52%

Mar 03, 3:00pm



Stockholm General Index
310.24

+2.82 (0.92%)


+62.68%

Mar 03, 3:00pm








Africa/Middle East
Price
Change (%)
1 Year %
Last Updated



Israel TA 100 Index
1125.01

+0.70 (0.06%)


+94.27%

Mar 03, 10:45am



TEL-TECH INDEX
315.04

+3.14 (1.01%)


+97.22%

Mar 03, 10:45am



TEL-TECH-15 INDEX
268.51

+2.92 (1.10%)


+82.07%

Mar 03, 10:45am

Shayne Heffernan www.livetradingnews.com AAP, with BusinessDay

Posted by Shayne Heffernan on Mar 3rd, 2010and filed underLatest News, USA.You can follow any responses to this entry through theRSS 2.0You can leave a response by filling following comment form or trackback to this entry from your site