By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks rose Thursday, with the
Dow industrials rebounding from their longest slide in more than a
year, but trading of Nasdaq-listed stocks and options were halted
due to technical trouble.
Just after midday, the Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ) said it had
halted trading in all Nasdaq-listed securities due to technical
issues. The New York Stock Exchange, BATS and DirectEdge exchanges
also said they were halting trading in Nasdaq-listed shares. Nasdaq
OMX said it planned to reopen trading for a 5-minute quote-only
period.
Bouncing back after a six-session bout of losses, its longest
since July 2012, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) advanced
43.26 points, or 0.3%, to 14,940.81.
Energy and industrials paced sector gains on the S&P 500
index (SPX), up 10.66 points, or 0.7%, at 1,653.46.
Stocks climbed as economic data cast a favorable light on growth
in the U.S. and overseas.
"The economy is not at this point looking like it's going into a
recession. It is certainly not booming, and that is the quandary
the Fed has and why the taper is such a big deal," said Paul Nolte,
managing director at Dearborn Partners in Chicago, referring to
signals from the Federal Reserve that it would curb its $85 billion
in monthly bond purchases before the end of the year.
"The question now being asked is how much and when, and the Fed
has left that very open," he added.
Before grinding to a halt, the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) gained
31.38 points, or 0.9%, to 3,631.16.
For every share declining, roughly five gained on the New York
Stock Exchange, where 273 million shares traded as of 1:10 p.m.
Eastern. Composite volume surpassed 1.4 billion.
The dollar (DXY) gained against the currencies of major U.S.
trading partners, including the yen (USDJPY) . The yield on the
10-year Treasury note (10_YEAR) used in determining mortgage rates
and other consumer loans rose 1 basis point to 2.907%.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures (GCZ3) rose
$1.20, or 0.1%, to $1,371.30 an ounce, while crude-oil futures
(CLV3) were up 50 cents at $104.35 a barrel..
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) declined 12% after the Dow component
and personal-computer maker's quarterly profit outlook
disappointed.
GameStop Corp. (GME) rallied 12% after the videogame retailer
raised its 2013 profit outlook. The stock was the biggest S&P
500 gainer.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) sank 18%, making it the worst
S&P 500 performer, after the retailer reported second-quarter
earnings beneath market expectations.
Data dependent
Applications for jobless benefits fell to a more-than five-year
low during the past month, illustrating continuing improvement in
the U.S. labor market, the government reported.
Separate data had U.S. house prices climbing 7.7% year-over-year
in June, and up 0.7% from May, the Federal Housing Finance Agency
said.
"The housing data was good; weekly jobless claims continue to be
good, so I would continue to expect that we'll see payroll growth,
the monthly numbers in the range we've been seeing -- it's not
fabulous but it's growth," said Nolte of the nonfarm payrolls
report due on Sept. 6, the final such report before the Federal
Open Market Committee starts a two-day session Sept. 17.
The Conference Board's index of economic indicators rose 0.6% in
July to 96.0, slightly above estimates.
Economic reports from overseas had Germany pacing gains in
manufacturing and services in the euro zone, and a measure of
factory productivity expanded in China.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires