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Wall Street shares start higher as traders get a break from China

Last updated: 12:48 03 Sep 2015 EDT, First published: 10:48 03 Sep 2015 EDT

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US shares opened higher....

As expected, US shares opened positively as traders welcomed the fact China markets were closed and positive trade data.

On Wall Street, the benchmark Dow Jones added 74 points to 16,425, while the broader based S&P500 gained 11 to 1,966 and the tech stock heavy Nasdaq gained 12 points to stand at 4,762.

David Madden, at  spreadbetter IG, noted:  "Previously, dealers have been cautious about bargain hunting after many had their fingers burnt, but with China closed until next week traders are taking advantage while they can.

"China has been the single biggest source of uncertainty in the financial markets in the past few weeks, and for the next two trading sessions that uncertainty has been removed.

"Any buying these days tends to be short-lived, and as China isn’t out of the woods yet it will be a true test of confidence to see how long the gains are held."

Meanwhile, it emerged the US trade deficit fell 7.4% in July, mainly because of lower imports such as cell phones and pharma products but exports rose for the first time in three months.

This is its lowest level in five months and was taken as a signal of the underlying strength in the economy amid concerns about a global growth slowdown.

The non-farm payroll data to be released tomorrow may further boost confidence in the health of the US recovery.

In company news, online auction giant eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) added 1.82% to US$27.37 as it celebrated two decades of buying and selling.

Costco (NASDAQ:COST), added 0.51% as it reported a significant rise in same-store sales for its most recently ended year.

Costco’s same-store sales rose 7% for the fiscal year ended August 30, excluding the negative effects of gasoline sales and currency fluctuations.

Drug maker Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) was down 0.21% as it emerged Swiss Drug maker Novartis revealed it would start to sell Zarxio in the USA.

The drug is a copycat, or biosimilar version of Amgen's (NASDAQ:AMGN) Neupogen, which helps to increase the white blood cell count in chemotherapy patients.

It comes after an appeals court in the USA yesterday turned down Amgen's appeal to block the Novartis drug sale.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) hit a four-week high after the drug maker submitted a drug for approval with the FDA and appointed a new chief executive officer.

Shares rose 10.3% to $42.00 in New York, after touching $43.50, the highest intraday price since August 6.

Elsewhere, on the losing front, JoyGlobal (NYSE:JOY) tumbled 19% in early trade after the mining equipment maker reported a 37% slump in fiscal third-quarter profit, and lowered its full-year guidance, due to weak demand for coal.

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