Stocks shake off gloom; Dow ends up 167
Calm returned to Wall Street Friday and stocks rallied as traders reacted to news of the fastest economic growth since 2011. Following Wednesday's 264-point plunge, the Dow Jones industrial average ended up about 167.35 points, or nearly 1%, climbing back over the 17,000 level to close at 17,113.15.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 16.86 points, 0.9%, to close at 1982.85, and the technology-packed Nasdaq composite added 45.45 points, 1%, to finish at 4512.19.
It was the seventh day out of the past nine trading sessions that the Dow has posted a triple-digit move. The blue-chip index is now 167 points, 1%, off its all-time closing high of 17,279.74 hit on Sept. 19.
Driving stocks higher: The nation's gross domestic product grew at a rate of 4.6% in the April-June period -- up from the 4.2% previously estimated, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was the fastest growth pace in 2 ½ years, as manufacturing and exports picked up.
Exports surged 11.1%, vs. the previous 10.1% estimate.
Leading the Dow higher was Nike (NKE), which shot up more than 12% after the athletic apparel maker reported earnings late Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations.
If the rally holds, it will at mean at least a temporary reprieve in what had been turning into a bruising run for the stock market. The Dow had registered four triple-digit moves in a row -- and three of those were drops -- since closing at a record high last Friday.The third quarter ends Tuesday, and investors are already looking nervously ahead to corporate earnings reports in coming weeks.
Thursday's sharp drop -- the worst drop in nearly two months -- was blamed on increasing concerns about the global economy and a growing backlash against problems consumers are reporting with Apple's latest software updates and its new product launches, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Friday, Apple (AAPL) shares were up more 2.9% to $100.75 after falling 3.8% on Thursday.
Thursday, all 30 stocks in the Dow fell as the blue-chip average closed down 264.26 points, 1.5%, at 16,945.80. The S&P index dropped 32.31 points, 1.6%, to finish at 1965.99. And the worst losses of the day were in the tech-packed Nasdaq composite, which ended down 88.47 points, 1.9%, to 4466.75, led by Apple.
Asian stocks sank Friday, weighed down by Thursday's poor session on Wall Street. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.9% to 16,229.86 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.4% to 23,678.41.
European markets were mostly higher: Britain's FTSE was up 0.2% to 6649.39 and France's CAC index gained 0.9% to 4394.75. Germany's DAX index dipped 0.2% to 9490.55.
Contributing: David Carrig