US stocks mostly higher

NEW YORK: US stocks ended mostly higher Thursday as traders awaited the December unemployment and nonfarm payrolls report to gauge the strength of the government-backed recovery from recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 33.18 points (0.31 per cent) to close at 10,606.86, in a second straight day of modest gains that brought the blue-chip index to its highest level since October 2008.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 1.04 points (0.05 per cent) to 2,300.05, while the broad-market Standard & Poor’s 500 index advanced 4.55 points (0.40 per cent) to 1,141.69.

Analysts said the market shook off a weak start and moved higher on generally better-than-expected sales results from US retailers, but that gains were capped by caution ahead of Friday’s key report on US employment for December.



“The stock market appears to be marking time, waiting for Friday’s employment report,” said Fred Dickson at DA Davidson & Co.

The Labour Department data is expected to show nonfarm payrolls fell by 35,000, after shedding 11,000 in November, and the unemployment rate holding at 10.0 per cent.

Blue chips perked up from morning doldrums after a two days of weak gains, lifted by retailers’ same-store sales numbers that beat market expectations and an advisory from financial regulators on interest rate risk management that raised speculation about a Federal Reserve interest rate hike.

“Retail sales data for December encouraged hopes for an improvement in the economy,” said Scott Marcouiller at Wells Fargo Advisors. -- AFP