NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose in early trading Tuesday after the government revised up its estimate for economic growth in the third quarter, giving the U.S. its strongest six months of growth in a decade. Stocks are trading at all-time highs.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained two points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,071.64 as of 9:44 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 14 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,829. The Nasdaq composite gained 12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,767.
FASTER GROWTH: The U.S. economy grew at a solid 3.9 percent annual rate in the July-September period, even faster than first reported. The third quarter growth rate climbed from an initial estimate of 3.5 percent because of greater spending by consumers and businesses, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
EARNINGS BEAT: Pall, company that makes filters for the food and health care industries, was among the leading gainers in the S&P 500. The company's stocks jumped $2.52, or 2.7 percent, to $97.16 after its earnings beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts.
EUROPE'S DAY: France's CAC 40 was up 0.5 percent at 4,392 and Germany's DAX rose 1.1 percent to 9,896 Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent to 6,741.
OPEC MEETING: A major event this week is a meeting of members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna on Thursday as the price of oil continues to slump. Traders will be looking for a possible agreement to cut production to shore up prices. The price of crude has tumbled 29 percent since June as producers kept output stable while demand in Europe and other markets weakened.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was up 47 cent to $76.25 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
BONDS AND CURRENCIES: Government bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was unchanged from Monday at 2.30 percent. The dollar fell to 117.92 yen from 118.28 yen late Monday. The euro rose to $1.2423.
– by AP Reporters Steve Rothwell and Youkyung Lee
