Wall Street higher amid hopes for easy money from central bank
Washington - Major US stock indices rose Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wrote that there was "scope for further action" by the rate-setting central bank to spur the economy.
Having already held its benchmark interest rate at an unprecedented near zero for more than three years, the Fed has lately bought up US Treasury bonds to force investment into private-sector assets .Another round of so-called quantitiative easing could be in the offing.
Bernanke's latest comments came in a letter to a member of Congress and followed this week's release of notes from the Fed's August 1 meeting at which "many members judged that additional monetary accommodation would likely be warranted fairly soon" unless economic data showed a "substantial and sustainable strengthening."
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 100.51 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 13,157.97. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 9.05 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 1,411.13. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 16.38 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 3,069.79.
For the week, the benchmark S&P 500 was off 0.5 per cent. The US currency edged up against the euro to 79.92 euro cents from 79.59 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar ticked higher against the Japanese currency to 78.67 yen from 78.51 yen.//DPA
