NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Selected strength in blue-chip issues boosted the Dow Jones industrial average Thursday morning, but tech stocks lagged as investors awaited the quarterly results from Dell Computer.
At 11:02 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 62.14 to 10,305.82. The Nasdaq composite index rose 7.17 to 1,732.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 6.21 to 1,097.28.
"The market is reacting to the day-to-day news, which reflects the continuing uncertainty that an economic recovery is on the way. We see that with the numbers this morning," said Robert Bloom, president of LF Capital.
SBC Communications (SBC: up $1.27 to $34.68, Research, Estimates), a Dow component, was among the regional phone companies advancing Thursday after BellSouth (BLS: up $1.64 to $33.40, Research, Estimates) was awarded the rights to long-distance service in two Southern states.
Strength in the retail sector after regional department store operator Dillard's (DDS: up $2.08 to $29.27, Research, Estimates) reported far-stronger-than-expected earnings helped lift Dow component Wal-Mart Stores (WMT: up $1.50 to $58.27, Research, Estimates).
After the close of trade, Dell Computer (DELL: up $0.22 to $27.92, Research, Estimates), the largest maker of personal computers, is expected to release its quarterly results. The company is forecast to have earned 16 cents per share, a penny less than its profit a year earlier.
"If the guidance from Dell is positive, that could give us a boost," Bloom said. "The question is whether the consumer can continue to hang in long enough for IT (information technology) spending to bottom and pick up. So something good from Dell would be encouraging."
Weakness in economy
A weak labor market continues to weigh on hopes for an economic recovery. Weekly jobless claims rose to 418,000 last week from a revised 416,000 the previous week, surprising economists who were expecting the number of Americans filing for new unemployment claims to decline to 405,000.
Housing, a sector of the economy that has held up well of late, showed a pullback. Housing starts fell in April to an annual rate of 1.56 million from a revised 1.64 million in March; economists were expecting a rate of 1.63 million.
Technology remains prominent on investors' minds. Late Wednesday, IBM (IBM: up $0.29 to $84.79, Research, Estimates)'s CEO told analysts that the computer hardware leader will be taking aggressive steps to strengthen areas such as PCs and hard drives, while beefing up its service offerings. The company also indicated the likelihood of job cuts, although no number was given.
The drug sector was also making waves in the stock markets.
Biotech ImClone Systems (IMCL: down $1.88 to $13.17, Research, Estimates) posted a sharply lower first-quarter loss, missing expectations on a drop in sales. In addition, Merck of Germany will not assist the company in getting its colon cancer drug Erbitux approved.
Shares of Pfizer (PFE: down $1.61 to $34.88, Research, Estimates) fell after the pharmaceutical company said the Department of Justice has expanded its investigation into the company's pricing for Lipitor, a cholesterol drug, to include 1998 and 2001, in addition to the already announced probe of 1999 and 2000.
Treasury prices rose in early trade, cutting the yield on the 10-year note to 5.23 percent.
In global trade, European bourses were higher at midday, while Asian markets closed mixed. The dollar was a little higher versus the euro and a little lower versus the yen. Brent crude oil futures dipped 12 cents to $28.03 a barrel in New York.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers edged winners as 381 million shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers 7-to-6 as 585 million shares traded.
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