(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished higher on Thursday after Dow component Alcoa reported upbeat earnings. Shares also got a boost from stronger- than-expected jobless claims data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.67 points or 0.06% to finish at 9,725.58. The S&P 500 advanced 6.76 points or 0.32% to end at 1,057.58. The Nasdaq Composite gained 6.76 points or 0.32% to 2,110.33.
A release by Department of Labor on Thursday showed number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits fell 33,000 to 550,00 in the week ending October 3. Economists expected jobless claims to drop to 540,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims, a less volatile gauge, decreased 9,000 to 539,750. Continuing claims for the week ending September 26 dropped 72,000 to 6.04 million.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that wholesale inventories fell 1.3% in August versus forecasts for a drop of 1%.
US aluminum giant Alcoa on Wednesday reported surprise fiscal third-quarter profit. The company earned $77 million, or 8 cents a share, compared to a profit of $268 million, or 33 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue declined 33% to $4.62 billion from last year's quarter. Shares of Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:
AA), the largest US aluminum maker, climbed 15 cents or 1.06% to end at $14.35.
Among financials, shares of American Express Co. (NYSE:
AXP) soared 99 cents or 2.91% to $34.98.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:
CAT) jumped $1.19 or 2.29% to $53.09.
Shares of DuPont Co. (NYSE:
DD) rallied 82 cents or 2.58% to $32.60.
Home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:
HD) surged 75 cents or 2.87% to $26.89.
Shares of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:
MSFT) gained 57 cents or 2.27% to $25.67.
Chevron Corp. (NYSE:
CVX) rose 94 cents or 1.33% to $71.45.
Early on Thursday, PepsiCo Inc.
