US stocks have managed solid gains despite a three-hour shutdown of the Nasdaq market that disrupted trade on other exchanges as well.
Nasdaq blamed technical problems in its computers for the shutdown, which came after midday on Thursday and lasted until trade resumed around 3.25pm (0525 AEST Friday), giving investors 35 minutes to clear their books.
At the finish the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 66.19 points (0.44 per cent) at 14,963.74.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 14.16 (0.86 per cent) at 1,656.96, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 38.92 (1.08 per cent) to 3,631.78.
“The upturn is being led by Germany, where growth accelerated again in August, driven in turn by rising domestic and export demand,” said Markit chief economist Chris Williamson.
“So far, the third quarter is shaping up to be the best … since the spring of 2011,” Williamson said, cautioning that the bloc was not yet entirely in the clear.
And HSBC’s PMI for China’s manufacturing sector jumped to 50.1 in August, up from July’s 11-month low of 47.7.
The Nasdaq shutdown was disruptive, but the market allowed traders to cancel orders and key stocks and options contracts could be traded on other boards.
But it struck a blow to the market still getting over its mishandling of last year’s disastrous Facebook IPO and, more recently, the lost of the listing of Oracle shares to the New York Stock Exchange.
Shares of Nasdaq OMX were down 3.4 per cent at the close.
Shares of fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch sank 17.7 per cent to their lowest level in nine months after the company’s second-quarter income sank, coming in at half of forecasts.
Discount retail chain Dollar Tree rose 2.5 per cent on its second-quarter report, which showed net income up nearly 5 per cent and a similar gain in sales.
Yahoo shares jumped 3.1 per cent on an industry report that traffic at its websites surpassed that on websites owned by search rival Google in July.
Hewlett-Packard sank 12.5 per cent on its weak quarterly earnings report, as the personal computer market continues to shrivel.
Oilfield services company Halliburton gained 1.8 per cent after announcing a $US3.3 billion ($A3.69 billion) share buyback
Bond prices were lower. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond pushed to a fresh two-year high of 2.90 per cent from 2.86 per cent late on Wednesday, while the 30-year increased to 3.89 per cent from 3.88 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
