New York, March 31 (DPA) US markets continued their upward swing Wednesday as traders were buoyed by optimism that jobs data due out later in the week would point to continued economic recovery.
Telecommunications stocks led the rally after AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson outlined the benefits of a planned takeover of smaller rival T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Germany’s Deutsche Telekom.
Traders expect the US jobless rate to continue to fall when monthly figures are released Friday. The rate stood at 8.9 percent in February.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 71.6 points, or 0.58 percent, to 12,350.61. The broader Standard and Poor’s 500 Index rose 8.82 points, or 0.67 percent, to 1,328.26. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 19.9 points, or 0.72 percent, to 2,776.79.
The US currency was off against the euro to 70.78 euro cents from 70.89 euro cents Tuesday. The dollar was up against the Japanese currency to 82.9 yen from 82.46 yen.
