Stocks Rose Before The Lights Went Out
Upbeat economic news reassured investors that business is improving, sending stocks moderately higher on a day when a giant power outage struck the Northeast just after the market closed.</br></br>The blackout sent stock exchanges scrambling to switch to backup generators. Major exchanges said they were prepared to open as scheduled on Friday, using backup power if necessary.</br></br>Stocks recouped some of their losses from Wednesday, when a big sell-off in the bond market spilled over to the equity market. As bond prices fall, yields rise, which can make bonds more attractive than stocks.</br></br>Still, the gains were modest, which analysts said was due to investors feeling more cautious with the major indexes near their highs for the summer.</br></br>The Nasdaq composite index rose 13.73, or 0.8 percent, to 1700.34, and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced 6.48, or 0.7 percent, to 990.51.