Blue chip stocks on Wall Street bouned back from a slide into the red after the previous session's big rally, hurt by declines in its economically sensitive industrial and materials shares.Investors were cautious ahead of Friday's key jobs report after mi
Blue chip stocks on Wall Street bouned back from a slide into the red after the previous session's big rally, hurt by declines in its economically sensitive industrial and materials shares.
Investors were cautious ahead of Friday's key jobs report after mixed news on the employment front. Initial claims for jobless benefits fell 10,000 to 453,000, much more than expected, while private employers added 55,000 jobs, less than predicted.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index held at 55.4 in May, the same reading as in April and March. Forecasters had expected the May PMI to edge up to 56.0.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 5.74 points, or 0.06%, up at 10,255.28, led by declines of about 2% each in DuPont and Alcoa. Earlier, the index was down as much as 75 points.
Tech stocks on the Nasdaq Composite Index were stronger, closing 1.0% up at 2303.03, while the S&P 500 was up 0.4% at 1102.83, though its basic-materials sector has tumbled 1.9%. Metals companies were especially weak, with AK Steel Holding off 3.9%, Newmont Mining off 2.8%, and U.S. Steel down 3.2%.
Other markets: Europe up
European stocks rebounded to finish higher, led by gains in energy and mining companies. French oil company Total gained up 3.0% while miners Rio Tinto and Kazakhmys gained more than 1%.
The Stoxx 600 oil-and-gas index added 2.1%, while the basic-resources index gained 0.4%. BP gained 0.6% as it reported some success in efforts to stop the six-week oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Stoxx 600 index closed 1.4% higher at 248.91, marking its fourth straight session of gains. The UK's FTSE 100 ended 1.2% higher at 5211.18, breaking a three-day losing streak.
France's CAC-40 added 1.6% at 3557.34, rising after four days of losses, while Germany's DAX closed up 1.2% to 6054.63.
In Asia, Japanese shares posted their biggest rise of the year as exporters benefited from the yen's fall, while other Asian markets also gained sharply after Wall Street's overnight surge.
The Nikkei Stock Average jumped 3.2% to 9914.19, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 2.4% to 4485.96 and Korea's Kospi climbed 1.9% to 1661.84.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 1.6% to 19,786.71, Singapore's Straits Times Index tacked on 2.4% to 2793.47 and India's Sensex gained 1.7% to 17,022.33.
China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.7% to 2552.66 on persistent fears about the mainland's economy.
Commodities: Oil up, gold down
Crude oil futures rose after US fuel inventories declined much more than expected.
Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose 43USc, or 0.6%, to $US73.29 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 82USc, or 1.1%, higher at $US74.57 a barrel.
Gold futures extended their losses when prices hit key technical levels that spurred additional selling. Gold for August delivery fell $US16.70, or 1.4%, to $US1205.90 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Euro, yen down
The euro slipped to a modest loss against the dollar and dropped markedly lower against the Swiss franc as jittery traders retreated from risk ahead of US payroll data.
The euro slipped to an intraday low at $US1.2152, bringing it within striking distance of its recent four-year bottom at $US1.2110.
The dollar was trading at ¥92.35 from ¥92.13 late on Wednesday. The euro was at $US1.2169 from $US1.2243 and at ¥112.17 from ¥112.73 and a session low at ¥112.47.
The dollar was at 1.1566 Swiss francs from 1.1545 francs, while the pound was at $US1.4608 from $US1.4655. Earlier, it had risen as far as $US1.4743.
