US stocks close up despite London terror attacks
Surprisingly calm US investors pushed stocks higher today, helping Wall Street recover from early losses after the London terror attacks.
Investors took heart after the Homeland Security Secretary said there was no “specific credible evidence” of a pending attack in the US. A sharp drop in oil prices also helped the markets rally.
Traders said the timing of the London attacks, several hours before the start of trading in New York, allowed investors to overcome any knee-jerk reactions to the news.
Jay Suskind, head trader at Ryan Beck & Co, noted that buy orders quickly entered the market as stocks sold off at the opening bell, and the markets made steady gains throughout the day.
“Unfortunately, this is the world we live in now. Five years ago, the market would have been down much more. Now, we see it as a buying opportunity,” Suskind said. ”There’s no panic.”
The major indexes fell nearly 1% after trading began, but by the session’s end, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 31.61, or 0.3%, at 10,302.29.
Broader stock indicators also recovered to post gains for the day. The Nasdaq composite index rose 7.01, or 0.3%, to 2,075.66, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 2.93, or 0.2%, at 1,197.87.
