Shares on Wall St closed higher overnight, after some early selling gave way to buying following stronger than expected economic news. The Dow Jones gained 40.42 points, or 0.4pc, to 9,374.21, while the Nasdaq composite added 18.05, or 1pc, to 1,800.18, its highest level in 16 months. Prior to the open, US second quarter growth was revised up to a 3.1pc annualised rate from an initial 2.4pc. The revision was higher than expected and the 3.1pc rate marks the fastest growth in a year. Further good news is expected today from the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index - forecast to remain steady for August - and the Chicago purchasing managers' index - forecast to tick slightly higher.
In corporate news, Dow component General Motors rose 2.6pc after Goldman Sachs upgraded it to "in-line" from "underperform" but rival Ford dropped 1.7pc after being downgraded. Boeing rose 2pc after winning a U2.5bn contract to build a new 250-pound bomb for the US military. Elsewhere, there were gains for financials JP Morgan and AMEX, engineering groups United Technologies and Honeywell and tech stocks HP and Intel.///www.fxcentre.com/