Wall Street indices mixed

Washington - Major US stock indices rose Friday near their all-time high as German business confidence increased and Procter & Gamble reported double earnings in its recent quarter.

German business confidence rose for the third consecutive month in January, jumping to a more-than-forecast 104.2 points, the Munich-based Ifo economic institute said. The report gave further evidence that Europe’s strongest economy was recovery from its doldrums.

Global coffee giant Starbucks Corp also contributed to a buoyant Wall Street a day after it reported record revenues of 3.8 billion dollars in the quarter to the end of December, an 11-per-cent increase over a year earlier.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70.65 points, or 0.51 per cent to 13,895.98. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 8.14 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 1,502.96. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index grew 19.33 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 3,149.71.

The US currency was off against the euro at 74.28 euro cents from 74.76 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar jumped against the Japanese currency to 90.91 yen to 90.39 yen.//DPA