|
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -
Stocks staged a broad rally Thursday afternoon, with all three major gauges climbing at least 1 percent, as investors jumped back in after a brief end-of-November sell-off.
As of 5:30 p.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures pointed to a flat open for stocks, although that's bound to change following the morning release of the November payrolls report.
The Dow Jones industrial average (up 106.70 to 10,912.57, Charts) gained 1 percent and the S&P 500 (up 15.19 to 1,264.67, Charts) index gained 1.2 percent.
The Nasdaq composite (up 34.30 to 2,267.17, Charts) added 1.5 percent.
Friday brings the November employment report. Employers are expected to add 210,000 to their payrolls in the month, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
Employers added 56,000 to their payrolls in October as an extension of a brutal fall labor market in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Regarding tomorrow's number, "you want a payrolls report that is strong enough to suggest profits but not so strong that it spooks the bond market," said James Awad, president at Awad Asset Management.
A payrolls number much stronger than forecasts would raise worries about higher interest rates, driving up bond yields and pressuring stocks.
The unemployment rate, generated by a separate survey, is expected to hold steady at 5 percent.
The jobs report will likely set the tone for Friday's market. However, analysts say that the bullish bias is likely to remain in place.
December is typically the best month of the year for the S&P 500 since 1950, with an average gain of 1.7 percent, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.
Thursday's market
Helping fuel the stock rally Thursday: gains in personal spending and personal income in October -- while inflation remained contained -- and a number of upbeat November sales reports.
The day's gains were broad based and came after a three-session sell-off at the end of an otherwise strong November for stocks.
"We've got a nice snapback today," said Barry Ritholtz, market strategist at Maxim Group. "We got shellacked over the last few days, so it's not surprising to see a little bounce back."
Ritholtz said it was too soon to say if the recent selling was over, but he thought Thursday's economic news could provide support for the market in the short run.
Chips were particularly buoyant, lifting the Philadelphia Semiconductor index 4.2 percent. All 19 of its components rose, led by Teradyne (up $1.16 to $15.79, Research) and National Semiconductor (up $2.02 to $27.90, Research).
Treasury prices slipped, raising the 10-year note yield to 4.51 percent from 4.48 percent late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The dollar gained versus the euro and the yen.
COMEX gold for December delivery rose $8.40 to settle at $503 an ounce.
What moved?
Energy was the session's other big leader. Valero Energy (up $4.90 to $101.10, Research) and Sunoco (up $3.49 to $80.69, Research) were among the issues boosting the Amex Oil (up 33.16 to 1,005.57, Charts) index by 3.4 percent.
Other blue-chip gainers included McDonald's (up $1.48 to $35.33, Research) and General Motors (up $0.71 to $22.61, Research), both Dow components.
Among tech gainers,while chips took the lead, Internet shares did well too, with the Goldman Sachs Internet (Charts) index adding just under two percent.
Telecom gear makers rose too, led by JDS Uniphase (up $0.23 to $2.80, Research) and Alcatel (up $0.46 to $12.80, Research).
The session also brought November sales from a number of retailers.
Clothing retailer AnnTaylor (up $1.02 to $31.35, Research) reported that November sales at stores open a year or more, or same-store sales, rose 12.9 percent versus a year earlier, topping forecasts for a rise of 4.2 percent.
Talbots (up $1.69 to $28.79, Research), a clothing retailer, surged after reporting November same-store sales rose 3.3 percent versus forecasts for a rise of 0.1 percent, according to Reuters estimates.
Wal-Mart Stores (down $0.53 to $48.03, Research) reported that same-store sales rose 4.3 percent in the month, above the midpoint of its range. However, the leading retailer also said that the pace of sales in December would slow, and its stock inched lower.
Among other movers, Rigel Pharmaceuticals (down $13.91 to $8.01, Research) slumped 63 percent in active Nasdaq trade on news that its experimental hay fever treatment failed to produce the right results in a mid-level trial.
Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers by more than three to one on volume of 1.88 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners by over two to one on volume of nearly 2.06 billion shares. The morning's other economic reports were mostly positive.
The Institute for Supply Management's read on manufacturing dipped to 58.1 in November, from 59.1 in October. Economists were looking for a reading of 58.
Another report showed a rise in construction spending in October, while a separate report showed a bigger-than-expected drop in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment last week.
U.S. light crude oil for January delivery rose $1.15 to settle at $58.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
|
