The stock market moved solidly higher on Thursday, with the Standard Poor’s 500-stock index scoring its best day in seven weeks, as bullish reports on consumer confidence and private sector jobs encouraged investors.
Data from the payrolls processor A.D.P. showed that American companies added 158,000 workers in October, the fastest pace in eight months. In another encouraging sign, consumer confidence jumped in October to its highest level in more than four years, the Conference Board said.
The numbers showed a slightly more positive picture of the American economy a day before Friday’s employment report from the Labor Department, the most widely watched United States economic indicator.
“In all, it bodes well for the bull side, and finally gave some investors a catalyst to buy,” said Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz Associates, an investment advisory firm in Toledo, Ohio. “Tomorrow will be more of a trump card and can take it all away.”
Employers are expected to have added 125,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls in October, up from 114,000 in September, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The unemployment rate is forecast to have inched up to 7.9 percent after a sharp drop to 7.8 percent in September.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 136.16 points, or 1.04 percent, to close at 13,232.62 The S. P. 500 shot up 15.43 points, or 1.09 percent, to finish at 1,427.59, its biggest daily percentage gain since Sept. 13, when the Federal Reserve unveiled its plan for a third round of economic stimulus. The Nasdaq composite index jumped 42.83 points, or 1.44 percent, to 3,020.06.
Pfizer fell 32 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $24.55 after it reported revenue that fell far short of expectations.
Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, which like Pfizer is a Dow component, gained 43 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $91.60. The company reported a quarterly profit that slipped from a year earlier, although it still topped expectations. Exxon’s oil and gas output, however, declined more than expected.
In after-hours trading, Starbucks rose $3.54, or 7.6 percent, to $50.16 after it reported a higher quarterly profit and raised its full-year forecast. The stock closed regular trading at $46.62.
During the regular session, official and private sector factory surveys in China that showed the world’s second-biggest economy regaining some traction added to support for stocks.
The JDA Software Group, a maker of supply-chain management software, soared $6.61, or 17.3 percent, to $44.76. The company agreed to a cash buyout by a privately held rival, RedPrairie, with a value of about $1.9 billion.
In the bond market, interest rates moved higher. The price of the Treasury’s 10-year note fell 13/32, to 99 2/32, while its yield rose to 1.73 percent, from 1.69 percent late Wednesday.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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