Investor optimism over growth boosts Wall Street

Dow Jones: 11,414.86 (+275.56) Nasdaq: 2,548.94 (+75.11) SP 500: 1,198.62 (+33.38):US STOCKS advanced yesterday, snapping a three-day decline for the Standard and Poor's 500 Index, as investors speculated President Barack Obama's plan to inject more than $300 billion into the economy will bolster growth.

The SP 500 rose 2.9 per cent in New York. All 10 groups in the SP 500 climbed as gains were led by financial, energy and industrial shares.

“The market is trying to feel the ground for a bottom,” Barry James, president of James Investment Research in Xenia, Ohio, said.

“It’s maybe going in the right direction with the president showing a little more of a pro-business, pro-growth concept. If they can agree to something in Washington that’s along those lines, we’ll be pretty happy,” he said.

Benchmark gauges rebounded yesterday amid expectations that a stagnant labour market and bleaker business and consumer sentiment may require more effort from President Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke to spur growth. Mr Obama plans to unveil his proposals for promoting job growth in an address to a joint session of Congress today.

In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, Mr Obama said that the nation faces “unprecedented” economic challenges. Mr Obama plans to propose sparking job growth by injecting more than $300 billion into the economy next year, mostly through tax cuts, infrastructure spending and direct aid to state and local governments.

Bank of America rose 7 per cent to $7.48 and was the top percentage gainer on the Dow after the heads of its consumer banking and global wealth and investment management units left.

Yahoo shares gained 5.4 per cent to $13.61 after its chairman, Roy Bostock, abruptly fired CEO Carol Bartz on Tuesday, ending a tenure marked by stagnation and a rift with Chinese partner Alibaba.

Darden Restaurants lost most on the SP 500, falling 3.6 per cent to $44.54 a day after the operator of the Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurant chains warned that Hurricane Irene hurt its fiscal first-quarter earnings.

Nvidia advanced 8.1 per cent to $14.25 a day after the chipmaker forecast 2013 sales that topped market expectations. – (Bloom-berg/Reuters)