US stocks jump amid economic data

US stocks extended gains, boosted by a slew of better-than-anticipated data.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 483.22 points, or 1.68 per cent, to 29,290.85. The S&P 500 increased 37.1 points, or 1.13 per cent, to 3,334.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 40.71 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 9,508.68, reported Xinhua news agency.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed higher, with energy up 3.78 per cent, outpacing the rest. Real estate was down 0.07 per cent, the only declining group.

Shares of US oil giant Exxon Mobil soared 4.6 per cent, among the best performers in the Dow. Another energy stock Chevron closed up 3.2 per cent.

On the data front, US private sector employment increased by 291,000 jobs from December to January, payroll data company Automatic Data Processing reported Wednesday. The reading topped market consensus.

The headline US non-manufacturing index registered 55.5 per cent, up 0.6 percentage point from the December reading, according to the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday. The increase slightly exceeded the MarketWatch forecast of 55 per cent.IANS