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As Stocks Rebound, Report Shows Economy Growing

CBN

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Global investors breathed a collective sigh of relief Thursday after stock markets started reversing the major losses from the past week.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average shot up 619 points, with markets on track to continue those gains Thursday. The 4 percent jump was its third-biggest point gain of all time and its largest since 2008.

And today even China's Shanghai Composite Index made a big rebound, too, rising more than 5 percent for its biggest one-day gain in eight weeks.

Those gains preceded some more good news about the U.S. economy, which posted a much bigger rebound in growth during the spring than previously reported.

The Commerce Department says the economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in the April-June quarter, more than a percentage point greater than the 2.3 percent originally estimated.

That adjustment came from improvements in a number of areas, including consumer spending and business investment.

All the good news follows six straight days of big losses on Wall Street, and weeks of enormous market losses in China.

Still, experts warn that more volatility could be ahead. The markets are sorting out concerns about China's slowing economy and questions about whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in coming weeks.

Following a six-year run-up in U.S. stocks that pushed major indexes to all-time highs, investors worry the economy could falter if the Fed raises rates too soon.

But stock traders were encouraged by comments from New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley. He said the case for a U.S. interest rate hike in September is "less compelling" given China's troubles, falling oil prices, and emerging markets weakness.

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