US stocks up in holiday-shortened session

New York, July 4 (IANS) US stocks traded higher in a holiday-shortened session Tuesday, as the latest weak data added to speculations that the central bank may take more steps to bolster the economy, reports Xinhua.

Monday's disappointing manufacturing data for June fuelled market expectations for more monetary easing from the US Federal Reserve.

A separate report from the US Commerce Department showed Tuesday that new orders for manufactured goods rose 0.7 percent in May, better than economists' forecast.

The market will be closed Wednesday for the Independence Day holiday. Investors will be focusing Friday's jobs data when they come back to the market, trying to figure out how the economy fares.

Many investors believe that if the jobs data come in weaker than expected, the Fed is very likely to announce another round of quantitative easing at its next policy meeting at the end of the month.

In Europe, although leaders worked out a series of measures to tackle the region's debt problems, giving the global market a strong boost, the economic situation there was still a big pain.

The eurozone's Producers Price Index fell to 2.3 percent in May, the lowest level in over two years, from 2.6 percent in April, as slowing economy and falling energy prices continued to drag down price levels.

When the market closed, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 72.43 points, or 0.56 percent, to 12,943.82. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up 8.51 points, or 0.62 percent, to 1,374.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 24.85 points, or 0.84 percent, to 2,976.08.