Stocks head higher
NEW YORK, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Stocks headed higher on Wall Street Tuesday with support coming mainly from abroad.
Stocks were up in Asia and Europe, as China said its gross domestic product rose 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter, a better-than-expected figure. In Europe, an auction of short-term government bonds was met with strong demand in France despite Standard & Poor's Inc. downgrading the country's credit rating on Friday.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 123.63 points, 1 percent, to 12,545.69. The S&P 500 index gained 10.59 points, 0.82 percent, to 1,299.44. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 27.59 points, 1.02 percent, to 2,738.26.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note was yielding 1.86 percent.
The euro rose to $1.2739 from $1.2667. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 76.83 yen from 76.79 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 1.05 percent, 88.04, to 8,466.40.
Canadian interest rate stays at 1 percent
OTTAWA, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Canada's central bank left its interest rate unchanged at 1 percent Tuesday, where it has been since September 2010.
The Bank of Canada said in a release the decision was made to maintain the level because of concerns about the economic situation in Europe, the United States and China.
Referring to its last quarterly Monetary Policy Report in October, the central bank said while the Canadian economy had grown, "the recession in Europe is now expected to be deeper and longer than the bank had anticipated in October," although it expressed confidence crisis containment measures were being implemented.
"In the United States, while the rebound in real [gross domestic product] during the second half of 2011 was stronger than anticipated, the bank expects the U.S. recovery will proceed at a more modest pace going forward," the bank said. "Chinese growth is decelerating as expected towards a more sustainable pace."
As for Canada, the bank said "the economy is only anticipated to return to full capacity by the third quarter of 2013, one quarter earlier than was expected in October."
N.Y. manufacturing shows gains in January
NEW YORK, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The New York Federal Reserve said general business conditions rose in January in the Empire State.
The New York Fed's index for general business conditions climbed five points to 13.5 with the critical new orders index rising eight points to 13.7.
In the survey taken in the first half of each month, numbers below zero indicate a contraction in business activity. Numbers above zero indicate growth.
In the January survey for New York, the shipments index rose from 20 to 21.6. The index measuring the number of employees rose from 2.3 to 12, while the index measuring hours worked rose from negative 2.3 to 6.6.
Optimism among manufacturers improved. The six-month outlook index rose nine points to 54.9. The future business index is up nearly 40 points since October, the Fed said.
Britain's leading indicators down again
LONDON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The Leading Economic Index for Britain fell 0.6 percent in November, dropping for the fourth consecutive month, the Conference Board said Tuesday.
The index fell to 102.5 with just two of the seven components in the index rising in the month.
The index assigns a base value of 100 to the year 2004. A number above 100 shows the indicators have risen compared with the average for the index in 2004. Conversely, if the index falls below 100, the indicators are lower than the average for 2004.
Conference Board said the Coincident Index for Britain, which measures current economic activity, remained unchanged October to November, holding at 102.4.
"The fourth consecutive decline of the LEI for the United Kingdom in November highlights the growing risk of the British economy following the lead of the eurozone into a recession. However, if the economy begins to contract, the relative strength of services industries may counterbalance the gloom of the manufacturing sector and limit the magnitude and duration of the contraction," said Jean-Claude Manini, the Conference Board economist for Europe.
