US businesses have stepped up pressure on Congress to quickly introduce tax cuts and other measures to alleviate financial problems, warning that many sectors are now fighting for survival in the wake of the terrorist attacks.
"Now millions of American businesses find themselves struggling to keep their doors open and their workers employed," Mr Jerry Jasinowski, president of the influential National Association of Manufacturers told lawmakers on Capitol Hill yesterday.
The call comes as the number of US workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits reached their highest level in nine years after thousands of firms cut payroll costs.
Companies including United Airlines parent UAL Corp, American Airlines parent AMR Corp, Eastman Kodak and auto-parts maker Visteon have announced plans to cut over 100,000 jobs in the past couple of weeks which will send the unemployment rate soaring in the coming months.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits for the first time rose by 58,000 to 450,000 in the week ended last Saturday, according to Labor Department figures.
Against this gloomy background, stocks rose yesterday for the third time in four trading days, with a late-session bargain-hunting rally lifting blue chips and the broad market
"This is a market that is very jittery and it doesn't take much to move it one way or another," said Mr Peter Coolidge, managing director of equity trading at Brean Murray & Co.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 114.03 points, or 1.33 per cent, to 8,681.42, erasing an earlier loss of 1.1 per cent. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 3.32 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 1,460.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11.57 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 1,018.61.
The Nasdaq also prepared for a period of sustained slowdown, suspending certain listing rules to help to stem the flow of companies that could vanish from the index. Usually, if a Nasdaq company's stock trades below $1 a share for 30 consecutive business days, it is given a 90-day grace period to conform to the exchange's requirements, or face delisting.
Business groups are seeking to accelerate individual tax cuts that were part of the $1.3 trillion tax cut package signed by President Bush earlier this year.
