Stocks on Wall Street rose for a third day as positive earnings reports overshadowed a batch of largely disappointing US economic data. The producer price index for finished goods rose 1.4% in January, versus economist expectations of a 0.9% rise.New clai
Stocks on Wall Street rose for a third day as positive earnings reports overshadowed a batch of largely disappointing US economic data.
The producer price index for finished goods rose 1.4% in January, versus economist expectations of a 0.9% rise.
New claims for jobless benefits rose 31,000 to 473,000 in the week ended February 13. Economists expected initial claims to increase only 5000.
Stock prices struggled tomake headway until the early afternoon, when the US dollar eased, pushing commodity-linked shares higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 83.66 points, or 0.8%, higher at 10,392.90, with 27 of its 20 components advancing.
One that didn't was Wal-Mart, which fell 1.4% early on after posting a 22% gain in fourth-quarter profit, but providing tepid first-quarter earnings guidance. The retail giant's sales fell at US stores open more than a year.
Insurance provider Travelers was the measure's top performer, up 1.5%. Hewlett-Packard was also strong, up 0.8%, after reporting a 25% profit rise in the first quarter and a boost to its fiscal-year revenue outlook.
The Nasdaq Composite and the Standard & Poor's 500-share index both finished 0.7% higher at 2241.71 and 1106.75 respectively.
Other markets
Europe's major stock indexes were modestly lower, as a weak session in Asia and a retreat in commodity prices hit sentiment.
Miners declined after spot gold fell sharply earlier on news the International Monetary Fund is intending to sell 191.3 tonnes of gold on the open market rather than to central banks. In London, Fresnillo declined 1.6% and Antofagasta fell 1.3% to 871.
.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.1% at 247.4. London's FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 5269.8, Frankfurt's DAX was down 0.3% at 5629.2 and Paris's CAC-40 was down 0.3% at 3714.9.
Most Asian markets fell Thursday, with Australian shares weighed as Qantas disappointed investors with its first-half results.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.3% to 4654.91, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.5%, to 20,422.15, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4% to 1621.19 and Philippine shares declined 0.6%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 ended up 0.3% at 10,335.69 after seesawing between positive and negative territory during the session. India's Sensex fell 0.6% to 16,327.84 and Singapore's Straits Times gave up 0.9% to 2769.19.
Markets in China, Taiwan and Vietnam remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
Commodities: Oil up, gold down
Crude-oil futures held earlier gains after key weekly US inventory data showed distillate stocks fell more than anticipated.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery traded 82USc, or 1.1%, higher at $US78.15 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 73USc, or 1%, higher at $US77 a barrel.
Gold futures pared overnight losses as weaker-than-expected US jobs data reduced expectations for an early Federal Reserve interest rate hike.
April gold was down $US1.10, or 0.1%, at $US1119 an ounce in New York. The contract hit an overnight low of $US1098.10 after the IMF sale announcement.
Currencies: Yen, euro up
The euro and commodities-influenced currencies erased losses after investors said US weekly jobless claims data wasn't as bad as they first appeared.
The euro recovered to as high as $US1.3655, gaining more than 1USc off its lows of the day.
The yen remained the best performer among major currencies after the Bank of Japan left key interest rates unchanged, but said it was "very important for the Japanese economy to overcome" deflation.
The euro was at $US1.3636 from $US1.3607 late on Wednesday in New York. The dollar was at ¥90.91 from ¥91.21, while the euro was at ¥123.97 from ¥124.11.
The UK pound was at $US1.5653 from $US1.5680.
