World markets: US stocks rise for third month

Stocks on Wall Street benchmarks rose for the third straight monthly gains after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke underscored the need to remain ready to take more action bolster the economy.

In a speech at the central bank's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he expressed dissatisfaction with the economic outlook and repeated the Fed would “provide additional policy accommodation as needed" to support the economic recovery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 90.13 points, or 0.7%, higher at 13,090.84, giving it a 0.6% August gain and a 0.5% decline on the week.

The S&P 500 index climbed 0.5% to 1406.58, rising 2% for the month and down 0.3% for the week. Growth-sensitive energy and materials sectors led nine of the S&P 500's 10 sectors higher.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6%, to 3,066.96, up 4.3% for the month and off 0.1% for the week. Facebook shares fell 5.4% to a new all-time low after analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut their view on the stock's future price to $US23, above where the stock is trading at $US18.

Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European stocks ended August on a positive note, as rising bank shares pushed most markets into positive territory. The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.5% to close at 266.23, snapping a three-day losing streak.

The index closed the month 1.9% higher, but slipped 0.7% on the week. The UK's FTSE 100 index closed 0.1% lower at 5711.48, as oil firms declined. On the month, the index gained 1.4% but slipped 1.1% on the week.

In Germany, banks buoyed the DAX 30 index to a 1.1% gain at 6970.79. It closed out August up 2.9% and ended the week flat.

France's CAC 40 index gained 1% to 3413.07, and posted a 3.7% monthly gain. On the week, the index fell 0.6%.

Asian stocks ended August mostly higher on the month, although a gloomy outlook on China's economy held back Chinese indexes.

Most markets were able to post gains on the month: Australia's S&P ASX 200 was up 1.1%, Korea's Kospi gained 1.2% and Japan's Nikkei Average was 1.7% higher.

The S&P ASX 200 ended flat at 4316.10, because of continued weakness in the resources sector. The Kospi was 0.1% lower at 1905.12 and the Nikkei fell1.6% to 8839.91.

Chinese markets ended the month on a down note as continued concerns over the economy proved a drag: Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.6% while the Shanghai Composite shed 2.7%.

The Hang Seng Index was 0.4% lower at 19482.57, as resource and telecoms companies led the declines, and the Shanghai Composite was down 0.3% at 2047.52.

Commodities: Oil, gold rise
Oil futures for October settled at $US96.47 a barrel, up $US1.85, or 2%. Brent oil futures for October were up $2.03, or 1.8%, to $US114.68 a barrel.

Gold futures settled at a five-month high, capping the largest monthly gain since January. Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, rose $US30.50, or 1.8%, to settle at $US1687.60 an ounce, the highest settlement for the benchmark contract since March 13.

Currencies: Euro rises
The euro traded as high as $US1.2612 was poised for a weekly gain of about 0.6% and a monthly rise of 2.4%. It later traded at $US1.2568 compared with $US1.2507 late on Thursday.

The dollar was at ¥78.32 compared with ¥78.63, while the euro was at ¥98.439 compared with ¥98.34. The pound changed hands at $US1.5861 from $US1.5785, while the dollar bought 0.9552 Swiss franc from 0.9603 franc.