US stocks close higher amid Fed's beige book

New York, Sep 5 (IANS) US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, paring losses from the previous session as investors digested the latest beige book released by the US central bank.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 237.45 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 26,355.47. The S&P 500 was up 31.51 points, or 1.08 per cent, to 2,937.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 102.72 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 7,976.88, the Xinhua news agency reported.

All of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher, with technology and communication services sectors adding 1.71 per cent and 1.61 per cent respectively, leading the gainers.

The majority of the Dow component companies traded in green territory, with Intel, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Nike being the top gainers.

Economic activity increased in most of the US, with eight of 12 Federal Reserve Districts reporting modest to moderate growth, according to the beige book that was released on Wednesday afternoon by the Federal Reserve.

The majority of districts indicated that manufacturing expanded, but that growth had slowed, particularly in the auto and energy sectors, the beige book said.

Although concerns regarding tariffs and trade policy uncertainty continued, the majority of businesses remained optimistic about the near-term outlook, according to the report.

The beige book is a regular report of the US central bank on current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts, based on information collected from various sources, including research reports and interviews with business contacts.

US stocks' retreat on Tuesday came amid the latest development of US-China trade relations as well as weak manufacturing data.