(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks settled higher on Thursday as surging crude oil prices boosted energy stocks. Stocks also rose as better than expected economic data lifted optimism.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 31.90 points or 0.37% to finish at 8,770.92. The S&P 500 added 5.74 points or 0.61% to end at 944.89. The Nasdaq Composite rose 9.29 points or 0.50% to 1,862.37.
According to Department of Commerce, US retail sales rose 0.5% in May. Economists expected retail sales to increase 0.5% in May.
A release by Department of Labor on Thursday showed number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits fell 24,000 to 601,00 in the week ending June 6. Economists expected jobless claims to drop to 615,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims, a less volatile gauge, increased 10,500 to 621,750. Continuing claims for the week ending May 30 jumped 59,000 to 6.82 million.
According to RealtyTrac Inc., foreclosure filings fell 6 percent in May from April and more than 321,000 households received at least one foreclosure-related notice last month - up 18 percent from a year earlier.
Shares of Bank of America (NYSE:
BAC) soared 99 cents or 8.26% to $12.97.
Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:
AA) jumped 73 cents or 6.35% to $12.22.
Among energy stocks, Chevron Corp. (NYSE:
CVX) climbed $1.68 or 2.39% to end at $71.90.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:
PFE) surged 58 cents or 4.13% to $14.63. Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) advanced 60 cents or 2.34% to $26.19.
On the downside, American Express Co. (NYSE:
AXP) slumped $1.06 or 3.97% to $25.63.
Boeing Co. (NYSE:
BA) lost $1.64 or 3.14% to end at $50.66.
The Clorox Co. (NYSE:
CLX) boosted its dividend by 9% to 50 cents a share and reaffirmed 2010 earnings guidance in the range of $4.00-to-$4.15 range and 1% to 2% sales growth.
Early on Thursday, Del Monte Foods Co. (NYSE:
DLM) said that its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings to $71.5 million, or 36 cents a share, from $50.4 million, or 25 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue climbed to $1.1 billion from $876 million. Shares of the company leaped 67 cents or 8.76% to $8.32.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NYSE:
LULU) plunged $1.88 or 12.35% to $13.34 after it reported that first-quarter net income decreased to $6.5 million, or 9 cents a share, from $8.5 million, or 12 cents, in the year-ago period. Quarterly revenue rose to $81.7 million from $77.
Late on Wednesday, Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:
CDNS) announced that it will cut 225, or about 5% of its workforce in order to cut costs.
Elsewhere, a release by Japanese government showed that economy shrank at a 14.2 percent annual pace in the first quarter.
China's National Bureau of Statistics said that spending on factories and other fixed assets soared 32.9 percent in the first five months of the year.
European stocks settled with gains. The UK FTSE advanced 25.12 points or 0.57% to 4,461.87. The German DAX and French CAC increased 1.11% and 0.59% respectively.
Asian stocks finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 fell 10.16 points or 0.10% to 9,981.33. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong rose 5.37 points or 0.03% to 18,791.03.
NYMEX crude oil for July delivery climbed $1.27 or 1.8% to settle at $72.60 a barrel.
Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.
