Stocks Climb on Falling Oil Prices

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Stocks climbed on Wednesday as oil prices slipped, but the record levels of August left investors concerned high energy costs will slow economic growth.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 68.78, or 0.7 percent, to 10,481.60. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 11.92, or 1 percent, to 1,220.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 22.33, or 1.1 percent, to 2,152.09.


Falling oil prices helped stocks. After closing at a record high of $69.81 Tuesday, oil settled Wednesday at $68.94, down 32 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange.


The Dow Jones U.S. Building Materials Index has been gaining since Monday, and it rose higher Wednesday, as some of the damages and the costs from Katrina’s devastation became more clear. Shares of Pasadena-based Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. gained 7.3 percent to $62.40 as dramatic news flowed from Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.


Other local movers included Jamdat Mobile Inc., whose shares rose 6.4 percent to $23.79 after the L.A.-based wireless entertainment provider’s stock was rated “outperform” in new coverage by analyst William V. Power at Robert W. Baird & Co. The 12-month price target was set at $28 per share.


And East West Bancorp Inc. edged up 2.9 percent to $33.94 after the San Marino-based holding company for East West Bank was raised to “buy” from “hold” by analyst Brian Conn at Sandler O’Neill & Partners, LP.

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