U.S. gain on expectations for loose Fed policy; Dow rises 0.15%

U.S. gain on expectations for loose Fed policy; Dow rises 0.15%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks rose on Monday after investors digested data and comments from Federal Reserve officials and concluded that the U.S. central bank remains on course to keep its USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases in place until 2014.

Asset purchases aim to spur recovery by driving down long-term interest rates, boosting stock prices in the process.

At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.15%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.36%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.37%.

U.S. economic indicators continue to point to an economy in recovery though they haven't been strong enough to prompt the Federal Reserve to begin tapering the pace of its asset purchases, investors concluded on Monday.

Federal Reserve officials said earlier the U.S. central bank won't scale back its USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases until economic fundamentals display noted improvements.

While St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard and Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome Powell stressed the need to keep stimulus programs in place, they didn't indicate when monetary authorities should begin tapering and then end asset purchases, which watered down Wall Street's gains.

Elsewhere in the U.S., data released earlier revealed that U.S. factory orders rose 1.7% in October from September, in line with expectations.

Many investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the release of the October jobs report on Friday, with many predicting modest gains in the number of nonfarm payrolls though not enough to spark a change in monetary policy.

Elsewhere, Blackberry said it was canceling plans to sell itself off, while pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay USD2.2 billion to the U.S. government to resolve criminal and civil claims that the company marketed prescription drugs for uses that were never approved as safe and effective and also over allegations the company paid kickbacks to both physicians and pharmacies for prescribing and promoting these drugs.

Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Exxon Mobil, up 2.52%, Microsoft, up 1.20%, and Verizon, up 1.14%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Visa, down 1.40%, DuPont, down 1.28%, and JPMorgan, down 0.96%.

European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.

After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.26%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.36%, while Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.33%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.43%.

On Tuesday in the U.S., the Institute of Supply Management is to release a report on service-sector activity.