Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Stocks are ending higher as investors scoop up shares of consumer product makers and financial companies as signals grow that the economy could be slowly finding its footing.

Money flowed into stocks like Procter & Gamble Co., which is boosting its dividend, and American Express Co., which is having to write off less bad debt.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 109 points, or 1.4%, at 8,029. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 11, or 1.3%, at 852. The Nasdaq composite index is up 1, or 0.1%, at 1,627 after disappointing results from Intel Corp.

Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.5 billion shares.