(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished higher on Thursday as better than expected corporate earnings and weekly initial claims data boosted economic optimism.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83.74 points or 0.92% to finish at 9,154.46. The S&P 500 climbed 11.60 points or 1.19% to end at 986.75. The Nasdaq Composite gained 16.54 points or 0.84% to 1,984.30.
Shares of diversified firm General Electric (NYSE:
) jumped 85 cents or 6.93% to $13.11.
DuPont Co. (NYSE:
) soared $1.27 or 4.30% to $30.81.
Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:
) rallied 45 cents or 4.09% to close at $11.46. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:
) surged $1.58 or 3.78% to $43.41.
Early on Thursday, Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:
) announced that second-quarter net income plunged 66% to $3.95 billion, or 81 cents a share, from $11.68 billion, or $2.22 a share in the year-ago period. Excluding items, earnings fell to 84 cents a share from $2.27 a share. Shares of the oil giant finished at $70.72, down 71 cents or 0.99%.
Dow Chemical (NYSE:
) said that it swung to a second-quarter loss of $435 million, or 47 cents a share, compared to a profit of $776 million, or 81 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The company said excluding one-time items, it made 5 cents a share. Revenue plunged 31% to $11.3 billion.
