U.S. stocks gain as market sees Fed stimulus staying; Dow up 0.31%

Investing.com - U.S. stocks finished Friday higher after soft data out of the housing sector convinced investors that the Federal Reserve will likely keep stimulus programs in place for longer than expected.

Stimulus programs such as the Fed's USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases drive down long-term interest rates to spur recovery, which boosts stocks in the process.

At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.31%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.39%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.52%.

The Commerce Department reported earlier that new home sales in the U.S. dropped 13.4% to 394,000 units in July, far worse than market expectations for a 1.4% decline.

In June, new home sales rose 3.6% to 455,000 units.

The numbers kept expectations going that while the Federal Reserve remains ready to begin scaling back the pace of its USD85 billion in monthly asset purchases this year, a start date may come later rather than sooner.

Fed officials have said they will pay close attention to economic indicators before deciding when to taper stimulus programs.

On Thursday, the Department of Labor reported the number of people filing for initial jobless claims last week rose by 13,000 to 336,000, a little higher than forecasts for 330,000, which helped soften the dollar in quiet trading.

Elsewhere, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced he would retire in 12 months, which sent the company's stock prices gaining.

Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Microsoft, up 7.35%, AT&T, up 1.39%, and Verizon, up 1.30%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Cisco, down 0.67%, The Travelers Companies, down 0.45%, and Caterpillar, down 0.44%.

European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.

After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.46%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.25%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished up 0.23%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.70%.

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