Stocks rose yesterday, starting a new month with a broad rally that lifted the Dow Jones Industrial average to a 10-week high on strong earnings and a soothing outlook from global consumer-product giant Procter & Gamble Co.
The Nasdaq composite index added 51.63 points to 2,167.87. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 16.31 points to 1,265.77.
"Procter & Gamble is a bellwether, blue-chip name and as this quarter was a little better than expectations, it appears the worst is probably over" for many related companies, said Allen Ashcroft, who helps manage $4.4 billion for Allied Investment Advisors.
P&G, maker of hundreds of products ranging from potato chips to nappies and one of 30 Dow stocks, reported results on the high end of Wall Street expectations, while reaffirming fourth-quarter guidance.
The company's stock jumped $4.13 gain, or 6.9 per cent, to $64.18, a rise that accounted for nearly 17 per cent of the Dow's rise.
Aerospace giant Boeing also supported the Dow with a gain of $1.63 to $63.43, along with tobacco giant Philip Morris, which was up $1.99 at $52.10.
Wireless telecommunications company Nextel Communications, the biggest independent US mobile phone operator, posted a smaller loss and cut 5 per cent of its workforce. Nextel rose $2.47 to $18.72.
