Stocks move higher as auto sales increase

9/4/2013

NEW YORK — Stocks are rising after automakers reported sharply higher sales for August, putting the industry on track for its best month in six years.

Investors were keeping careful watch on President Obama’s drive to win support in Congress for a military strike on Syria.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 108 points, or 0.7 percent, to 14,942 in shortly before noon today.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 14 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,654 and the Nasdaq composite was up 36 points, or 1 percent, to 3,648.

U.S. automakers rose sharply. General Motors gained $1.05, or 3.1 percent, to $35.20 and Ford rose 52 cents to $16.87.

GM’s sales rose 15 percent last month, while Ford’s rose 12 percent.