Related News
Insurers lead stocks higher after weaker Irene
Source: Agencies |
August 30, 2011, Tuesday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
SO much for Irene. Stock indexes rose sharply yesterday after it became clear that the tropical storm caused far less damage than many had feared.
Stocks rose broadly, led by insurers. The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 230 points in late afternoon trading.
Consulting firm Kinetic Analysis Corp. predicted that the claims paid by insurers would be about US$2 billion to US$3 billion, far less than the US$6 billion the industry paid out after Hurricane Isabel struck the region in 2003.
The lower damage estimates pushed insurance stocks higher. Allstate Corp. rose 7.4 percent, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. rose 12.4 percent, while Travelers Cos. Inc. rose 4.3 percent. Insurance and banking stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 3.3 percent, the most of the 10 company groups that make up the index.
Utilities companies also rose after it became clear their storm-related expenses would be lower than earlier estimates. Duke Energy Corp., which serves customers in the Carolinas, rose 1.3 percent. New York's biggest utility company, Consolidated Edison Inc., also rose 1.3 percent.
The New York Stock Exchange and other major U.S. exchanges opened as usual yesterday after making extensive preparations over the weekend. At the NYSE, executives brought in dozens of cots so employees could sleep there to be ready for the opening bell.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 232 points, or 2.1 percent, to 11,515 in late afternoon trading. It is now down just 0.5 percent for the year. It had been down as much as 7 percent for the year on Aug. 10.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 29, or 2.4 percent, to 1,205. The widely used market benchmark has now gained back all of the ground it lost since it hit a 2011 low on Aug. 8, after Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. government's credit rating. Since then, it has risen 7.7 percent.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 70, or 2.8 percent, to 2,550.
The Russell 2000 index, a benchmark for small companies, rose 26 points, or 3.8 percent, to 718. That suggested investors were more willing to take on risk. Small-company stocks are more likely to fall in economic downturns, but they also offer the potential of larger gains if the economy does well. The Russell is still down 8.3 percent this year, twice as much as the S&P 500.
Stocks rose broadly, led by insurers. The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 230 points in late afternoon trading.
Consulting firm Kinetic Analysis Corp. predicted that the claims paid by insurers would be about US$2 billion to US$3 billion, far less than the US$6 billion the industry paid out after Hurricane Isabel struck the region in 2003.
The lower damage estimates pushed insurance stocks higher. Allstate Corp. rose 7.4 percent, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. rose 12.4 percent, while Travelers Cos. Inc. rose 4.3 percent. Insurance and banking stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 3.3 percent, the most of the 10 company groups that make up the index.
Utilities companies also rose after it became clear their storm-related expenses would be lower than earlier estimates. Duke Energy Corp., which serves customers in the Carolinas, rose 1.3 percent. New York's biggest utility company, Consolidated Edison Inc., also rose 1.3 percent.
The New York Stock Exchange and other major U.S. exchanges opened as usual yesterday after making extensive preparations over the weekend. At the NYSE, executives brought in dozens of cots so employees could sleep there to be ready for the opening bell.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 232 points, or 2.1 percent, to 11,515 in late afternoon trading. It is now down just 0.5 percent for the year. It had been down as much as 7 percent for the year on Aug. 10.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 29, or 2.4 percent, to 1,205. The widely used market benchmark has now gained back all of the ground it lost since it hit a 2011 low on Aug. 8, after Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. government's credit rating. Since then, it has risen 7.7 percent.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 70, or 2.8 percent, to 2,550.
The Russell 2000 index, a benchmark for small companies, rose 26 points, or 3.8 percent, to 718. That suggested investors were more willing to take on risk. Small-company stocks are more likely to fall in economic downturns, but they also offer the potential of larger gains if the economy does well. The Russell is still down 8.3 percent this year, twice as much as the S&P 500.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
