By Peter McKay
U.S. stocks rose Thursday, helped by better data on retail sales
and jobless claims, while a trio of analyst upgrades pushed the Dow
Jones Industrial Average into positive territory for 2010.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gained 47.38 points, or
0.5%, to 10,444.14, up 0.2% for the year. It was led Thursday by a
2.9% gain in Walt Disney Co. (BAC) after Bank of America Merrill
Lynch raised its rating on the company to "buy" from "neutral."
Two other Dow components benefited from upgrades by UBS. Shares
of Coca-Cola Co. (KO), which was moved to a "buy" rating from
"neutral," rose 1%. Boeing Co. (BA) gained 1.7% after being moved
to a "neutral" rating from "sell" by the investment bank, which
said a greater proportion of airlines are now looking to speed
deliveries of new aircraft rather than postpone them.
Better-than-anticipated readings of jobless claims and nonfarm
business activity also helped the market, though data on factory
orders and pending home sales were disappointing.
All the week's big-picture announcements, however, have been
viewed mostly as precursors to a highly anticipated payrolls report
due Friday morning. Wall Street is expecting to see further
declines in nonfarm payrolls for February -- a worrisome sign for
investors looking for a robust economic recovery.
"No one thinks we're going to have a double-dip recession, but
it does look like we're going to have a long slog," said Alan
Valdes, director of floor operations at the New York Stock Exchange
for Kabrik Trading. "The unemployment rate has been getting better
lately, but no one is really hiring."
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) was up 0.5%, while the S&P
500 (SPX) was up 0.4%.
Health-care stocks, which led a late-day swoon in the market on
Wednesday, continued to be a sore spot. Insurance companies led the
sector's losses after executives entered a meeting with U.S. Health
and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the White House.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama
hopes to see the House approve health-care legislation by March 18.
See more on health-care.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) shares fell 3.4%, Aetna Inc. (AET)
was down 2%, and Cigna Corp. (CI) shares fell 1.9%.
Several retailers reported improved sales in February. Among the
companies that handily topped expectations, Zumiez Inc. (ZUMZ)
shares jumped 10.1%, while Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) climbed
14.6% and Aeropostale Inc. (ARO) rose 6.5%.
Composite trading in New York Stock Exchange-listed companies
hit 4.1 billion shares, falling well shy of the 2010 full-day
average of 5.1 billion shares.
Other assets were more volatile than stocks, especially the
dollar, which posted a solid rally versus the euro after Greece
successfully completed an offering of 10-year debt. The dollar's
gains in turn weighed on commodities, which are traded globally in
terms of the greenback.
Crude futures ended down 66 cents at $80.21 on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
"The jobs number tomorrow, we fear, is going to disappoint,"
wrote energy analyst Mike Fitzpatrick with MF Global in New York.
He added that any buyers at this stage are operating "on hopes and
wishes, not solid fundamentals."
Gold futures fell and Treasury prices were mixed. The two-year
note was down 3/32 to yield 0.859% while the 10-year note was up
4/32 to yield 3.608%.