US stocks close higher amid data

 US stocks closed higher as investors digested the latest economic data.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 146.97 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 27,649.78. The S&P 500 rose 19.56 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 3,112.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 46.03 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 8,566.67, Xinhua news agency reported.

Most of the 30 Dow components traded in green territory, with JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs rising 1.97 per cent and 1.74 per cent, respectively, leading the gainers.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded on an upbeat note, with the energy sector gaining 1.57 per cent, the biggest winner.

On the data front, the US non-manufacturing sector continued to expand in November, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said Wednesday.

The non-manufacturing index (NMI), which gauges the performance of the services sector, registered 53.9 per cent in November, which is 0.8 percentage points lower than the October reading of 54.7 per cent, according to the latest Non-Manufacturing ISM Report on Business.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity. But the figure was lower than Wall Street estimates. IANS