NEW YORK�Major indexes advanced, with bank stocks helping bolster gains, as the blue chips advanced toward fresh highs for a third straight day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 44 points, or 0.3%, to 14340. The Dow average rose 42 points, or 0.3%, on Wednesday for its fourth consecutive gain, and its second-straight record close.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index tacked on two points, or 0.2%, to 1544. Financial stocks led the index in morning trading, with the sector rising 0.7%. The Federal Reserve is set to release a first round of stress-test results for banks after the market's close.
The Nasdaq Composite Index added three points, or 0.1%, to 3225.
In the Markets- MarketBeat: Rally Stokes 1980s Flashbacks
There were 340,000 initial claims for jobless benefits in the latest week, less than the 350,000 expected. The reading comes ahead of Friday's closely watched employment report.
Among other data, the trade deficit for January was $44.45 billion, higher than economists' projections of a $43 billion deficit. Fourth-quarter productivity fell 1.9% on the quarter, more than the 1.6% expected, and fourth-quarter unit labor costs rose 4.6%, above expectations of a 4.4% increase.
The morning's data was "a bit of a mixed bag," said Barry James, president and chief executive of James Investment Research, which oversees $3.7 billion. "But I think people are trying to squeeze in [the rally] any way they can... That's the thing about these rallies, any type of setback is a great buying opportunity."
Consumer credit for January, due at 3 p.m., is seen rising $15 billion on the month.
In deal news, Time Warner rose as it said it will spin off its entire Time Inc. magazine business, which would become an independent, publicly traded company. The decision came after a deal to merge most of the magazine group with Meredith couldn't be worked out.
Hot Topic jumped after the teen retail said it has agreed to be taken private by private-equity firm Sycamore Partners for about $600 million in cash, roughly a 30% premium to Wednesday's closing price.
European markets were flat to higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600 little changed, after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged, as expected, and a Spanish bond auction saw strong demand.
Spain's IBEX 35 index rose 0.8% after Spain sold �4.61 billion ($5.98 billion) in bonds, above the upper end of its targeted range.
Asian markets were mostly lower, as investors moved to the sidelines ahead of key data out of China. But Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.3% to a 4�-year high. The Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged, as expected, following the last meeting for Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa.
China's Shanghai Composite shed 1%, after running up 3.2% over the previous two sessions, ahead of key trade data on Friday and inflation and industrial numbers over the weekend. Australia's S&P ASX 200 eased 0.2%.
Crude-oil futures jumped 1.2% to $91.54 a barrel, while gold futures gained 0.2% to $1,577.40 a troy ounce. The dollar slipped against the euro but gained against the yen. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose to 1.983% as prices fell.
In other corporate news, Dell shares fell after the computer maker said it received a letter from activist investor Carl Icahn proposing a special $9 a share dividend and a leveraged recapitalization if the planned $24.4 billion buyout by founder Michael Dell falls through. Dell said it was looking for alternative proposals that might be better than a deal to go private.
Artisan Partners Asset Management, which oversees nearly $80 billion of investor assets from its base in Milwaukee, popped 20% in its public-trading debut.
PetSmart slumped after the specialty pet store reported earnings that topped estimates, but provided an outlook on earnings and sales growth for the current year that was below analyst projections.
Retailers are generally reporting better-than-expected same-store sales results for February, according to Thomson Reuters data. Among the firms with standout results on Thursday were wholesale retailer Costco and Victoria's Secret owner Limited Brands . Off-price retailer Ross Stores missed expectations.
DryShips slid after the dry-bulk shipper reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and revenue that fell short of expectations, and provided a downbeat outlook for shipping markets.
Ciena surged after the data-equipment company reported a fiscal first-quarter adjusted profit, versus expectations for a loss, on improved gross margin and revenue that rose more than expected.
Write to Alexandra Scaggs at alexandra.scaggs@dowjones.com
No comments:
Post a Comment