(dpa) - US stocks closed up Thursday after rules on mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were loosened. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said the government-backed lenders could sell larger loans on the broader mortgage market, sending their stocks up more than 7 per cent, Bloomberg financial news reported.
Stocks had started the day down, after the US Labor Department said inflation rose the most in 17 years in July. Consumer prices rose 5.6 per cent year-on-year.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 82.97 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 11,615.93. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index earned 7.10 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 1,292.93. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 25.05 points, or 1 per cent, to 2,453.67.
The US currency reached to a five-month-and-a-half high against the euro to 67.55 euro cents from 66.99 euro cents on Wednesday, and rose to 109.78 Japanese yen from 109.34 yen.
Gold futures closed down 17 dollars to 814.50 dollars.