U.S. Services Index Unexpectedly Indicates Faster Growth In December
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Service sector activity in the U.S. unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in the month of December, according to a report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Thursday.
The ISM said its services PMI rose to 57.2 in December from 55.9 in November, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the service sector. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 54.6. The composite index indicated growth for the seventh consecutive month after a two-month contraction in April and May, said Anthony Nieves, Chair of the ISM Services Business Survey Committee.
Gold Futures Settle Higher
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures ended modestly higher on Thursday, rebounding after suffering a sharp loss in the previous session.
The yellow metal s uptick was partly due to expectations that the U.S. government will announce additional fiscal stimulus in the foreseeable future.
The dollar s recovery against its peers limited gold s gains. The dollar index rose to 89.97 by mid-morning, but pared some gains subsequently. It was last seen hovering around 89.80, up 0.3% from previous close.
Gold futures for February ended up $5.00 or about 0.3% at $1,913.60 an ounce.
Silver futures for March closed higher by $0.219 at $27.261 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $3.6960 per pound, gaining $0.0455.
Read more about US: Stocks gain ahead of Georgia elections on Business Standard. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index advanced 167.71 points, or 0.55%, to 30,391.60. The S&P 500 index was up 26.21 points, or 0.71%, to 3,726.86. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 120.51 points, or 0.95%, to