US stocks open higher, led by gains for financial stocks

US stocks open higher, led by gains for financial stocks photo US stocks open higher, led by gains for financial stocks

The Standard & Poor’s 500 climbed almost 12 points, about 0.6 percent, to almost 1,970, and the Nasdaq composite gained 33.5 points, about 0.7 percent, to 4,861.1. The Shanghai Composite gained 1.9 percent.



Global stock markets were uneven Monday after the Fed’s decision to delay a rate hike added to pessimism about global growth prospects.

US stocks rose broadly in early trading Monday as investors tried to look beyond the uncertain timing of a possible interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said on Monday that he was “confident” of a rate rise this year. In the event, it opted against its first rate rise in more than nine years and sounded a note of caution over the state of the global economy.

CURRENCIES: The euro was down 0.5 percent at $1.1256 while the dollar rose 0.4 percent to 120.48 yen. Dow-members Pfizer, Merck and Johnson & Johnson all fell.

Atmel, a California-based semiconductor company, was one of the day’s big winners.

Chipmaker Atmel jumped after it accepted a bid from Britain’s Dialog Semiconductor. Atmel provides electronics products used in the industrial, automotive, consumer, communications, and computing markets.

FED IN REAR: Over the past couple of weeks, the main focus in markets centered on the Fed and on whether it would raise its main interest rate from near zero percent at the culmination of its meeting on September 17.

In Europe, stocks stabilized from losses on Friday.

EUROPE RISING: Britain’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.1 percent while the CAC-40 in France climbed 1.1 percent. The late-week slump gave the equity gauge another period of indecision, as it capped its 10th straight week of back-and- forth results with a decline of 0.2 percent.

As the markets opened the price of crude oil continued its climb. Investors are also betting that a higher price for wholesale gasoline could spur refiners to process more crude. The price of USA benchmark crude oil was up $1.23 at $46.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Technology and financial stocks rose most.

BONDS: In government bond trading, prices fell. The contract plunged $2.22 on Friday to close at $44.68.

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