US markets post gains Monday

Equity markets made further headway Monday, an indication traders have adjusted to news the U.S. Federal Reserve could reduce a stimulus program On Friday, markets soared. But analysts attributed the gains to news the U.S. economy added 195,000 jobs in June, 35,000 more than economists had been predicting. With no major economic data released Monday, investors could have fallen back on the previous worry, which was news that Fed policymakers were considering pulling back from an $85-billion-per-month, asset-purchasing program. But markets rose, indicating an end to the negative reaction to the possibility of a monetary policy change, which signals the Fed's growing confidence in the economic recovery. At the close Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average had gained 88.85 points or 0.59 percent to 15,224.69. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 5.45 points or 0.16 percent to 3,484.83 and the Standard & Poor's 500 added 8.57 or 0.53 percent to 1,640.46. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,7845 stocks advanced and 1,298 declined on a volume of 3.4 billion shares traded. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.4 percent or 200.63 points to 14,109.34. In Britain, the FTSE 100 added 1.17 percent or 74.55 to 6,450.07. The 10-year U.S. treasury note rose 27/32 to yield 2.64 percent. Gold added $22.40 to close at $1,235.10 per troy ounce. West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 27 cents in after-hours trading to reach $102.95 per barrel. The euro fell to $1.2871 against the dollar. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 100.98 yen. On the Chicago Board of Trade, December corn gained 9 3/4 cents to $5.01, November soybeans added 24 cents to $12.52 1/4 and September wheat added 2 1/2 cents to $6.62 1/2.