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Stocks build on gains
NEW YORK >> Wall Street moved higher for a third day yesterday, despite a trio of mixed economic reports, as upbeat investors made more bets on an economic recovery.
"There's a little bit of jitteriness," said Todd Clark, head of listed equity trading at Wells Fargo Securities. "We have some negative reaction to business inventories being lighter than expected. ... But in general, we have a generally better tone to things."
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 4 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was somewhat heavy at 1.95 billion shares, the same amount traded Wednesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 13.33, or 0.2 percent, at 9,196.55, having advanced in eight of the last nine sessions for a net gain of 472 points.
The broader market also rose. The Nasdaq composite index gained 7.60, or 0.5 percent, to 1,653.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.03, or 0.1 percent, to 998.51. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.24, or 0.3 percent, to 456.74.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note closed up 13/32 point, while its yield fell to 3.16 percent from 3.22 percent Wednesday. Two-year Treasury notes were up 3/32 point and yielded 1.10 percent, down from 1.16 percent Wednesday.
The Commerce Department reported yesterday that the nation's retail sales rose by 0.1 percent in May, compared to 0.3 percent in April. The figure was slightly stronger than the flat reading analysts expected.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the number of American workers filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week dropped by a seasonally adjusted 17,000 to 430,000. Still, claims remained above 400,000, a level that suggests a lackluster job market.
And in a third report, the Commerce Department said business inventories of unsold goods edged up 0.1 percent in April as companies appeared cautious about the economic outlook. Analysts were expecting a 0.2 percent rise.
Wall Street has seen strong gains in recent months on encouraging quarterly profits and anticipation of an economic recovery by the end of the year. Some analysts believe stocks may be on an upward path.
"The institutional investors, the pros if you will, are pretty darn optimistic at this point," said Hank Herrmann, chief investment officer at Waddell & Reed Financial, citing low interest rates and better corporate profits. "Retail investors are getting more optimistic but they're certainly not euphoric."
He added that stocks would likely continue their upward trend until the Federal Reserve's June 24-25 meeting as investors bet the policymakers will cut interest rates beyond their already 41-year low.
"The equity market is going to have a good bid all the way up to the Fed meeting," he said.
Gainers included Dow components AT&T, which rose $1.03 to $21.53, and Intel, which increased 25 cents to $22.14.
H.J. Heinz fell 58 cents to $33.82 after the food company reported fiscal fourth-quarter income that missed analysts' estimates by a penny.
H&R Block dropped $1.87 to $42.11 after quarterly profits fell short of expectations.
And Altria Group lost 78 cents to $42.90 after the Illinois Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the $10.1 billion verdict against the company's Philip Morris tobacco unit.
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