All Stock Indexes Closed with Gains

U.S. stock indexes closed with gains Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average putting an end to six-straight losing sessions. The Dow rose 75.42 points, or 0.63%, to close at 12,124.36, while the S&P 500 Index rose 9.44 points, or 0.7%, to close 1289.00. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 9.49 points, or 0.35%, to close at 2,684.87.

The net wealth of U.S. households rose slightly in the first quarter as Americans continued to reduce their debt and benefited from higher stock prices. The Federal Reserve on Thursday said net household wealth climbed about $950 billion to $58.1 trillion, the highest level since 2007.

Fixed mortgage rates have dropped for an eighth straight week, but the low rates have done little to boost the depressed housing market. The average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.49 percent from 4.55 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinance option, slipped to 3.68 percent from 3.74 percent. Both are lows for the year.

Oil climbed above $101 per barrel Thursday as investors focused on how the world would meet energy demand in coming months. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery rose $1.19 to settle at $101.93 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Hewlett Packard Co will begin selling its TouchPad on July 1 in the United States for $499.99, debuting the first tablet computer powered by Palm’s operating software. Jumping into the tablet computer craze triggered by Apple Inc’s iPad, HP said on Thursday it start taking orders on June 19 in North America and Europe.

Avaya Holding Corp. filed for a $1 billion initial public offering, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday. Silver Lake Funds and TPG Funds own about 72.3% of the company’s 487.4 million outstanding shares. The IPO would value the telecom equipment maker at just over $5 billion. Joint book-runners for the offering include Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, B. of A. Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, UBS and Credit Suisse.

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