US stocks climb on lower inflation outlook

21. February. 2010

New York: US stocks posted mild gains at the end of a strong week Friday after inflation for January came in lower than expected despite the US recovery from recession.

Consumer prices climbed 0.2 percent, the Labour Department said. Core prices, which exclude more volatile food and energy costs, surprisingly dropped 0.1 per cent, marking the first monthly decline in the core rate since 1982.

Bloomberg News reported that stock trading slowed at 11 a.m. (1600 GMT) when star golfer Tiger Woods offered his first public apology over a series of extramarital affairs.

Stocks had opened the day lower in response to the Federal Reserve raising the discount interest rate at which it lends directly to commercial banks by 0.25 percentage points to 0.75 percent.

The rate change was made after markets closed Thursday and marked the central bank's first monetary policy shift in more than a year, though its more closely watched federal funds inter-bank lending rate was kept at a record low of near 0 percent.

Stocks pared those losses through the day amid hopes that the low inflation data will encourage the Fed to keep its federal funds rate at its record low for a while still.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 9.45 points, or 0.09 percent, to 10,402.35. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 2.42 points, or 0.22 percent, to 1,109.17. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.16 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,243.87.

The US currency dropped against the euro on Friday to 73.49 euro cents from 74.08 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar also fell against the Japanese currency to 91.58 yen from 91.99 yen a day earlier.
[World news]