Stocks rise smartly in the US

Stocks rose smartly in the United States today as stronger-than-expected earnings from FedEx and Morgan Stanley put investors’ inflation fears on the back burner. The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 100 points.

Morgan Stanley’s second-quarter profit more than doubled from a year earlier and FedEx saw a 27% jump in its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. The results quietened concerns about the possibility of an economic slowdown caused by rate rises from the Federal Reserve.