Wall Street gains on energy prices

By DPA,

New York : US stocks gained Wednesday as energy and metal prices rose, despite worries about the fate of a proposed $14-billion bail-out for carmakers.


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Energy shares led the rally on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index as oil future for January delivery rose 3.4 percent to $43.52 per barrel, Bloomberg financial news reported. While US aluminium giant Alcoa Inc picked up the most of any stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gaining 6.8 percent.

Automotive shares were hurt by uncertainty about the bail-out package agreed to by Democrats in Congress and the White House, as many Republicans indicated their reluctance to back a deal. The House of Representatives was expected to vote on the measure later Wednesday, but the Senate might not take it up until the weekend.

General Motors shares fell 2.1 percent to $4.60, and Ford earned one percent to $3.25.

The blue-chip Dow earned 70.09 points, or 0.8 percent, to 8,761.42, while the broader S&P 500 picked up 10.57 points, or 1.2 percent, to 899.24. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 18.14 points, or 1.2 percent, to 1,565.48.

The US currency fell to 76.76 euro cents from 77.30 euro cents Tuesday and rose to 92.75 Japanese yen from 92.22 yen.

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