NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Receding oil prices lured investors back into equities Thursday as concern over the economic impact of high energy prices waned.
The Dow Jones industrial average (up 95.31 to 10205.20, Charts) jumped nearly 1 percent while the Nasdaq composite (up 8.35 to 1984.50, Charts) posted smaller gains. Standard & Poor's 500 (up 6.34 to 1121.28, Charts) chalked up its sixth consecutive day of gains, a first since early October.
"The fact that we are grinding higher shows that people are getting more confident," said Donald Selkin, director of research at Joseph Stevens, adding falling crude prices proved to be an important psychological lift for investors.
Rising oil prices have punished stocks in recent weeks as investors worried high energy prices would slow world economic growth, acting as a tax on national output and corporate profits.
Crude oil for July delivery slid $1.26 to settle at $39.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading above $40 for most of the last two weeks. In London, Brent crude lost 83 cents to settle at $36.25 a barrel.
Stocks received an extra boost from a revised reading of the nation's gross domestic product. The amended first-quarter report showed that growth came in at a 4.4 percent annual rate, up from an initial reading of 4.2 percent but below forecasts for 4.5 percent.
Some investors perceived this as a source of encouragement, thinking it would delay the widely expected interest-rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
In a separate report, the number of people filing new weekly jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 344,000 last week, a bit higher than forecasts of 335,000.
What moved?
Among the Dow stocks, Wal-Mart Stores (WMT: Research, Estimates) rose 1 percent after the company won approval from the Chicago city council Wednesday evening to open its first store in that city, although a proposal to allow a second Wal-Mart store fell one vote short.
Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates) jumped more than 3 percent on reports the Pentagon's stalled $23.5 billion plan to lease and buy modified 767 aircraft from Boeing may still go ahead despite a decision to suspend negotiations for several months.
Elsewhere, a sharply narrower first-quarter loss of $7.3 million, down from $319 million a year earlier, helped Vivendi Universal (V: Research, Estimates) beat Wall Street's estimates and boosted its shares more than 6 percent.
Tyco International (TYC: Research, Estimates) rose 3 percent after announcing it would strengthen its balance sheet by paying off its debts.
CIBC World Markets upgraded JDA Software Group (JDAS: Research, Estimates) to "outperform" from "sector perform" and upped its target price on the software maker's shares to $16, a moved that lifted the stock more than 11 percent.
Dollar Tree Store (DLTR: Research, Estimates) reported late Wednesday a first-quarter profit of $35.2 million, or 31 cents per share, beating analysts' 29 cents-a-share expectations. The news sent its shares soaring more than 8 percent.
Select technology stocks were enjoying a good run, with Nortel Networks (NT: Research, Estimates) rising more than 7 percent, Lucent (LU: Research, Estimates) up more than 3 percent, Siebel Systems (SEBL: Research, Estimates) soaring more than 8 percent and Texas Instruments (TXN: Research, Estimates) gaining 3 percent.
On the downside, ManTech International (MANT: Research, Estimates) dived 31 percent--making it the largest decliner on the Nasdaq--a day after the technology services firm cut its second-quarter and full-year earnings forecasts.
CACI International (CAI: Research, Estimates) skidded over 11 percent as federal investigators said they were probing whether employees of the computer services firm were involved in the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq.
Lone Star Steakhouse (STAR: Research, Estimates) warned late Wednesday its second-quarter earnings would fall short of analysts' estimates, knocking the restaurant chain's shares nearly 13 percent.
Market breadth was positive and volume was robust. On the New York Stock Exchange, roughly 11 stocks rose for every 10 that fell as 1.4 billion shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, where 1.6 billion shares traded, advancers beat decliners by eight to seven.
Treasurys rallied, with the benchmark 10-year note rising 15/32 of a point to yield 4.60 percent versus 4.66 percent late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The dollar fell versus the yen and the euro, but the single European currency pulled back from a multi-week high of $1.2266 touched earlier in the session.
In the commodities market, COMEX gold settled $7.50 higher to $395.50 an ounce.
European markets rallied, and Asian markets ended mostly higher.
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