New York, Jan 8 (DPA) Major Wall Street stock indices have ended mostly higher amid gathering economic optimism.
A government report on Thursday showed that the pace of job losses continues to moderate.
Analysts from Morgan Stanley said that commercial real estate, widely feared as the other shoe to drop after the meltdown in the US residential property market, would not become a major impediment to economic growth.
Shares in the retail sector rose as major US chain stores raised forecasts or delivered earnings reports that beat expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 33.18 points, or 0.31 percent, to 10,606.86. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 4.55 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,141.69. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 1.04 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,300.05.
The US currency edged up to 69.84 euro cents from 69.4 euro cents on Wednesday. The dollar soared against the Japanese currency to 93.31 yen from 92.32 yen.
