US stock rise despite Nasdaq problems

U.S. stocks made headway Thursday despite a 2-hour Nasdaq index derailment that halted trading in the thick of a business day. The Nasdaq index went back on line shortly after 3 p.m. in New York after a technical problem derailed trading. Stocks had been on an upswing and remained positive after the New York Stock Exchange put the index back on line. Positive business data from China, Europe and the United States gave stocks a boost. The manufacturing purchasing managers index for China climbed just above break even with a reading of 50.1. In the eurozone, the composite PMI for service and manufacturing businesses rose to 51 in August from 49.8. In the United States, Markit Economics said the PMI for manufacturing reached 53.9 in August from July's 53.7. The Securities and Exchange Commission said it was "monitoring the situation" with the Nasdaq OMX exchange. The popular index lists thousands of stocks, including technology giants Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook. The Nasdaq Composite index was up 31.38 points at 3,631.17, when it was halted midday. By the close of trading for the day, the Nasdaq had posted a gain of 38.92 points or 1.08 percent to 3,638.71. The Dow Jones Industrial average closed with a gain of 66.19 points or 0.44 percent to 14,963.74. The Standard & Poor's 500 closed at 1,656.96, up 14.16 points or 0.86 percent. Other positive date came from the Conference Board, which said the U.S. leading economic indicators rose 0.6 percent in July and the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, which said its House Price Index was up 2.1 percent in the second quarter. On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,604 stocks advanced and 506 declined on a volume of 2.5 billion shares traded. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan dropped 0.44 percent or 59.16 points to 13,365.17. The FTSE 100 in Britain added 0.88 percent or 56.03 points to 6,446.87. The 10-year benchmark treasury bond was yielding 2.898 percent. The euro fell to $1.3357, while the dollar rose to 98.70 yen, up 1 percent. In after hours trading, crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange added 1.27 percent or $1.32 to reach $105.18 per barrel. On the Comex division, gold added $5 or 0.36 percent to $1,375.10 per troy ounce. Silver gained 12.6 cents to reach $23.135 per ounce.