USA stocks settle higher

The concerns over China’s growth rate hit the oil patch, where U.S.-produced crude was down almost 2% to $46.41 per barrel in early trading. NASDAQ 100 index went up 23.44 points or 0.53 percent to close at 4,462.07.

“Today’s data suggest that while the official GDP figures continue to overstate the actual pace of growth in China by a significant margin, underlying conditions are subdued but stable”, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics. “Energy is a different story, it’s getting pulled down by the number, but if this number had come out a year ago there would be a lot more angst and anxiety”. Energy companies were the biggest drag on the S&P 500, falling 1.9 per cent. Gerrmany’s DAX was up 0.3% but off earlier highs, and the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.1%. At the end of the third quarter investor expectations for corporate profits were gloomy, with analysts expecting earnings in the S&P 500 to decline 5.1 per cent. Including results from 63 companies, earnings in the index are on track to slip 5 per cent in the third quarter, according to FactSet.

Shares of Weight Watchers worldwide more than doubled to $13.92 from $6.79 on news of a partnership with much-admired USA television talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who will take a 10 percent stake in the struggling company and plans to “candidly share her experiences” employing its weight-management programs.

United States stocks finished modestly higher yesterday as gains in tech shares offset weakness in petroleum-linked equities following weak Chinese economic data. That hurt Morgan Stanley’s shares, which were down $1.85, or 5,5%, to $32.10 in pre-market trading. “It is just a matter of time until the European Central Bank decides to drive the euro lower”, its analysts said in a note. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

In commodities, gold ended down 0.9 per cent at $US1,172.80 a troy ounce.