1 Aug 2009

US indexes up in July

9:13 am on 1 August 2009

The S&P 500 ended its best five-month streak since 1938 with a slight gain on Friday after government data reinforced expectations that the economic slump is abating.

Dow industrials had their best July since 1989 while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recorded their best gains for July since 1997.

Trading was volatile as investors digested mixed news: GDP fell at annual rate of 1% in April-June after tumbling 6.4% in the first quarter. However, consumer spending was soft.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 17.15 points, or 0.19%, at 9,171.61.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.73 points, or 0.07%, at 987.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 5.80 points, or 0.29%, at 1,978.50.

For the week the Dow rose 0.9%, the S&P 500 gained 0.8% and the Nasdaq added 0.6%. For July the Dow gained 8.6%, the S&P added 7.4% and Nasdaq rose 7.8%.

Volume was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1.51 billion shares changing hands - compared to last year's estimated daily average of 1.49 billion.

About 2.27 billion shares were traded on the Nasdaq - below last year's daily average of 2.28 billion.