|
NEW YORK - US STOCK markets opened higher on Tuesday as auto giant General Motors announced a record 38.7 billion dollar (S$54.8 billion) loss for 2007, but signalled it was moving aggressively to slash costs.
The leading blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66.17 points (0.54 per cent) to 12,306.18 just after the New York Stock Exchange opened for trading.
The tech-rich Nasdaq composite gained 14.96 points (0.64 per cent) to 2,335.02 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index increased 7.67 points (0.57 per cent) to 1,346.80.
Despite the vast annual loss, some analysts said GM's results were better than anticipated. The automaker said it planned to offer voluntary buyouts to all 74,000 union-represented members of its US workforce.
Market participants said Wall Street gained support from billionaire investor Warren Buffett who announced he had offered to reinsure 800 billion dollars (S$1.13 billion) in municipal bonds presently insured by three troubled bond insurers: Ambac, MBIA and FGIC.
The bond insurers are vying to weather a financial crunch sweeping the US mortgage and credit markets.
'The stock market tone is improving, at least a bit. This is largely due to the fact that Warren Buffett has offered to reinsure Ambac, MBIA, and FGIC,' said Dick Green, an equity analyst at Briefing.com. -- AFP
|
