Money World economy
US stock markets reached their highest level in four months on Friday as mixed economic data offered traders a glimmer of hope that the US economy was strengthening.
The strong rally held out throughout the day after figures released before the opening bell showed orders for big-ticket items decreased in August at a slower than expected rate.
Yet traders found comfort in the fact that excluding transportation equipment, mainly aircraft parts, orders of items such as household appliances rose by a more-than-expected 2.0 percent last month.
The manufacturing industry is seen as one of the main engines pulling the US economy out of one of its worst recessions in decades.
The report "showed solid upward revisions to the previous month's figures and after stripping out the volatile components, demand for goods intended to last more than three years was strong in August," said analysts at Charles Schwab.
Stocks were little affected by less positive news that showed US home sales in August were flat in August.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 197.84 points (1.86 percent) to 10,860.26 in closing trades, while the broader S&P 500 index was up 23.84 points (2.12 percent) to 1,148.67 points.
The tech-rich Nasdaq composite index rose 54.14 points (2.33 percent) to 2,381.22 on the back of a strong 6.88 percent rise in shares of microchip maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
