Techs lead the chargeMajor gauges advance, led by Nasdaq composite, as investors eye bank earnings, shrug off jump in oil prices.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Technology led a broader stock advance Thursday morning, as investors set aside concerns about higher oil prices and instead focused on upbeat earnings from the bank sector and a surprisingly large drop in weekly jobless claims. The Dow Jones industrial average (up 14.90 to 12,332.40, Charts) added 0.3 percent in the early going, while the broader S&P 500 index (up 2.98 to 1,416.19, Charts) added added 0.4 percent. The tech-fueled Nasdaq (up 10.29 to 2,442.70, Charts) composite gained 0.7 percent.
Stocks struggled for direction Wednesday as bullish November retail sales competed with higher oil prices and Treasury bond yields. The tone was a bit more positive Thursday, thanks to some upbeat company news. Both Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers reported higher quarterly earnings Thursday morning that beat estimates. Bear Stearns (up $1.23 to $157.12, Charts) shares rose, while Lehman (down $0.39 to $75.98, Charts) dipped. In deals news, Nestle said it's buying the medical nutrition unit of Swiss pharmaceuticals firm Novartis for $2.6 billion. U.S. light crude oil for January delivery gained 66 cents to $62.03 a barrel in electronic trading after OPEC said it would cut production by 500 million barrels per day, starting Feb. 1. Investors also considered a report that showed a surprisingly large drop in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment last week. Treasury prices crept higher, recovering from Wednesday's drubbing. The rise lowered the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.57 percent from about 4.48 percent late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. In currency trading, the dollar rose against the yen and euro. |
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