Wall Street upbeat and strong in demand driven markets

Wall Street was up again today supported by prospects of lower rate in the US for longer within a demand driven environment.

Oil  was on the bid and robust economic data from the session fuelled an outlook of a stable US economy. The S&P 500 closed 5 points higher, or 0.2%, to 2,186, with strong energy and utilities shares while the Dow industrials rallied 22 points, or 0.2%, to 18,596.  Chevron Corp and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. carried the index as the strongest performers on the blue-chip gauge. The Nasdaq Composite gained 12 points, or 0.2%, to 5,240. 

Meanwhile, the US dollar continued to fall, despite Fed dove Dudley sounding upbeat on the US economy. In data, the US jobless claims for the week to 13 Aug fell to 262k, slightly better than the 265k expected. Philadelphia Fed business activity jumped from -2.9 to 2.0, as expected, although the components were weaker than the headline suggested.