Commodity companies lead modest upturn
NEW YORK – Wall Street closed a quiet session with a moderate advance Thursday, with energy and other commodities companies leading the market as oil prices extended their record-breaking run.
Although the rising price of oil ignited concerns about inflation Wednesday, knocking the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 200 points, stocks managed to hold on to their gains even as oil rose Thursday. Some of the big gainers were the companies that would benefit most from higher commodities prices – oil companies and metals producers such as Alcoa Inc. – and they helped lift the major indexes.
Stocks also rose after retailers issued April sales results that, while not strong overall, were less gloomy than expected.
The Dow rose 52.43, or 0.41 percent, to 12,866.78.
Broader stock indicators turned higher after fluctuating during the session. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.11, or 0.37 percent, to 1,397.68, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 12.75, or 0.52 percent, to 2,451.24.
Bond prices rose as some investors sought the safety of government debt despite the gains in stocks. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.79 percent from 3.85 percent late Wednesday.
Gold prices rose, while the dollar declined against most other major global currencies.
In a positive sign for the U.S. employment picture, which has seen four straight months of jobs losses, the Labor Department said Thursday the number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits dropped by 18,000 last week to 365,000 – a larger decline than expected.
Aluminum producer Alcoa rose $1.56, or 4.1 percent, to $39.65. Oil companies also gained; Exxon Mobil Corp. rose $1.11 to $89.93, while Chevon Corp. was up $2.11, or 2.3 percent, at $97.44.
The Russell 2000 index rose 3.34, or 0.47 percent, to 719.55.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume amounted to a light 1.21 billion shares, compared with 1.28 billion shares traded Wednesday.
The European Central Bank left its interest rates unchanged Thursday. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet pointed to clear upside risks to price stability, indicating that the bank is unlikely to lower its rates in the near future.
In overseas trading, Japan’s Nikkei index fell 1.13 percent, Britain’s FTSE index rose 0.16 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 0.06 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.39 percent.