US stocks rise as yuan and oil stabilize

New York (AP) — U.S. stocks rose broadly in late afternoon trading Friday as China's currency stabilized and oil edged up from its lowest price in more than six years.

Keeping score: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose seven points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,090. Nine of the 10 industry sectors of the index rose were higher, led industrial companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 63 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,470 as of 3:11 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite gained 15 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,048.

China calm: China's currency, the yuan, was stable after a sharp drop earlier this week that triggered a sell-off in stock and commodities markets around the world. On Friday, the dollar was buying 6.397 yuan, little changed from the previous day when Zhang Xiaohu, a deputy governor at People's Bank of China, said there is "no basis for persistent and substantial devaluation."

The quote: "People were worried that the country was in more trouble," said Sean Lynch, co-head of global equity strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "We see China's growth slowing, but we don't see it collapsing."

Oil low: The price of crude oil edged up after hitting its lowest price in more than six years amid concerns over a slowing economy in China, a huge energy consumer, and abundant global production. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 27 cents to $42.50 a barrel. Oil closed at $42.23 on Thursday, its lowest since March 3, 2009.

Retailers jump: J.C. Penney rose 48 cents, or 6 percent, to $8.54 after reporting a narrower loss in its second quarter on stronger-than-expected sales as the department store chain continues to turn its business around. Nordstrom also beat expectations in results reported after markets closed Thursday. The stock rose $3.06, or 4.1 percent, $77.95.

The earnings reports came a day after the Commerce Department reported U.S. retail sales climbed last month, raising hopes of continued good news for stores in the current quarter.

Chip dip: Applied Materials fell 45 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $16.40 after the chip-making equipment company said that revenue for its most recent reporting period fell short of analysts' expectations. The company also said sales for the current quarter could fall as much as 7 percent.

Sysco surge: Sysco rose $2.45, or 6.4 percent, to $40.97 after an investment firm run by activist Nelson Peltz said it had acquired a 7.08 percent stake in Sysco, making it the food distributor's largest shareholder.

European growth: Figures from The European Union's statistics agency, Eurostat, showed that economic growth across the region was 0.3 percent, down slightly from 0.4 percent growth in the first three months of the year. France and Italy were the main disappointments in the figures. German growth was also underwhelming when exports were taken out.

Europe slips: Germany's DAX fell 0.3 percent and the CAC-40 in France fell 0.6 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.3 percent.

Greek bailout: Greek lawmakers approved a draft of their country's third bailout. The government needed the bill to pass in time for its finance minister to head to Brussels to meet his eurozone counterparts, who will decide Friday afternoon whether to approve the draft deal. Greece needs the 85 billion euros ($93 billion) from the bailout to avoid defaulting on its debts.

Bonds: Bond prices rose slightly, pushing down the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 2.18 percent from 2.19 percent on Thursday.

Metals: Gold fell $2.90 to $1,112.70 an ounce and silver dropped 18.6 cents to $15.21 an ounce. Copper was little changed at $2.35 per pound.

By Bernard Condon, AP Business Writer. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Gayly – August 14, 2015 @ 2:25pm.