(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished mostly higher on Thursday after better than expected economic data and a rally in banking stocks boosted sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 58.42 points or 0.69% to finish at 8,555.60. The S&P 500 increased 7.66 points or 0.84% to end at 918.37. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.34 points or 0.02% to 1,807.72.
A release by Department of Labor on Thursday showed number of Americans filing
first- time claims for unemployment benefits rose 3,000 to 608,00 in the week ending June 13. Economists expected jobless claims to drop to 604,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims, a less volatile gauge, decreased 7,000 to 615,750. Continuing claims for the week ending June 6 dropped 148,000 to 6.68 million.
According to Conference Board,
the index of U.S. leading economic indicators increased 1.2 in May after a 1.1 percent gain in prior month.
Bank of America (NYSE:
BAC) jumped 60 cents or 4.88% to $12.90. JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) rallied $1.44 cents or 4.40% to $34.
Shares of Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:
AA), the largest aluminum maker, advanced 29 cents or 2.76% to $10.78.
Soft drinks maker Coca Cola Co. (NYSE:
KO) increased $1.62 or 3.38% to $49.55
Shares of drugmaker Merck & Co. (NYSE:
MRK) leaped 88 cents or 3.55% to $25.65. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:
PFE) climbed 34 cents or 2.33% to $14.92.
Consumer giant Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:
PG) finished at $51.11, up $1.10 or 2.20%.
On the downside, Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:
CAT) lost 72 cents or 2.07% to close at $34.08.
Late on Wednesday, State Street Corp. (NYSE:
STT) announced that it has repaid the full amount of the Treasury Department's $2 billion investment in the company under the TARP Capital Purchase Program. Shares of State Street Corp. rose $1.33 or 2.94% to end at $46.58.
Early on Thursday, Discover Financial Services Inc. (NYSE:
DFS) reported second-quarter net income of $225.8 million, or 43 cents a share, compared with $234.1 million, or 48 cents a share, in the prior year period. Discover Financial surged 36 cents or 4.04% to $9.27.
Carnival Corp. (NYSE:
CCL) announced that fiscal second quarter net income plunged 32% to $264 million, or 33 cents a share, compared to $390 million, or 49 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue tumbled 13 percent to $2.95 billion. Consensus expectations were for company to earn 28 cents a share on revenue of $2.99 billion. Shares rallied $1.72 or 7.46% to $24.77.
J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:
SJM) reported that fiscal fourth quarter profit jumped to $94 million, or 80 cents a share, from $37 million, or 67 cents a share. Revenue rose to $1.1 billion compared to $590 million. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.01 versus 73 cents. Shares of the company soared $4.22 or 9.67% to $47.86.
European stocks settled with gains. The UK FTSE rose 2.40 points or 0.06% to 4,280.86. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.78% and 1.04% respectively.
Asian stocks finished lower. The Nikkei 225 lost 137.13 points or 1.39% to end at 9,703.72. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong fell 307.94 points or 1.70% to 17,776.66.
NYMEX crude oil for July delivery climbed 34 cents or 0.5% to settle at $71.37 a barrel.
Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.
