US stocks end losing run with modest gains

NEW YORK: US stocks posted modest gains Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak, as the market proved resilient to disappointing manufacturing data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.45 points (0.31 percent) to 12,394.66 in closing trade.

The broader S&P 500 index added 4.24 (0.32 percent) at 1,320.52, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 15.22 points (0.55 percent) to 2,761.38.

After opening in negative territory, the major indices managed to carve out gains for the first time in three sessions, despite a weaker-than-expected durable goods report.

Orders for durable goods -- big-ticket items such as planes, computers and autos that are expected to last at least three years -- dropped 3.6 percent from March, the Commerce Department said.

The decline was more than a percentage point bigger than expected by most analysts.

But the Commerce Department revised the March increase in orders to 4.4 percent.

"The mitigating factor with the weak April report is that it followed a very strong March report," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.

"In this light then, it is premature to label the April disappointment as a true sign of things to come."

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011