US stocks rise after completing best quarter since 2003

US stocks climbed higher Wednesday on slightly rosier prospects for manufacturing and housing, a day after investors celebrated the best quarter on Wall Street since 2003.

The stock market was buoyed by figures showing the manufacturing sector shrank at its slowest pace in 10 months, the latest sign that the US economy is stabilizing.

The Institute for Supply Management's index climbed in June to 44.8. Any figure below 50 indicates a contraction.

Pending home sales in the United States also rose for the fourth straight month in May, according to the National Association of Retailers, suggesting the housing crisis may also be easing.

Investors hope major US stock indices will continue their surge of the last three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 11 percent in the April-June period - its best quarterly performance since 2003 - and is up nearly 30 percent since hitting a 12-year low in early March.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 15 percent in the second quarter, its best three-month showing since 1998.

On Wednesday the blue-chip Dow rose 57.06 points, or 0.68 percent, to 8,504.06. The S&P 500 was up 4.01 points, or 0.44 percent, to 923.33. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 10.68 points, or 0.58 percent, to 1,845.72.

The US currency dropped against the euro to 70.67 euro cents from 71.25 euro cents on Tuesday. But the dollar rose against the Japanese currency to 96.64 yen from 96.37 yen.

Last updated on Jul 2^nd, 2009 at 06:58 am IST--DPA