- S&P 500 close to record-high
- US jobless claims, deficit data beat expectations
- Dow in longest winning streak since 1996

Dow Jones: 0.58%
Nasdaq: 0.43%
S&P 500: 0.56%

Stocks finished with decent gains on Thursday after jobless claims came in below expectations, signalling further improvement in the US labour market.

The S&P 500 finished 0.6% higher at 1,563, just a couple of points from the record-high of 1,565 reached in October 2007 before the financial crisis hammered equity markets across the globe.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average registered its 10th consecutive day of gains, the longest streak since November 1996.

The Dow has now gained 11% in 2013 so far. According to CNBC, since 1950 there have been only 12 other instances when the index rose 8.0% in the first quarter and in each of those years it finished positive 100% of the time.

Jobless claims beat forecasts

US jobless claims which fell to 332,000 last week, the lowest number since January and below the 350,000 forecast, while the four-week moving average dropped to its lowest level in five years.

The current-account deficit unexpectedly narrowed in the fourth quarter to $110.4bn from $112.4bn. Analysts were expecting a small rise to $112.8bn.

The producer-price index rose 0.7% month-on-month in February, in line with the consensus estimate, accelerating from the 0.2% increase in January. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy, was unchanged at 0.2% on the month, above the 0.1% expected.

Improving data sparks QE concerns

The improving data from the States of recent weeks has led many to believe that the Federal Reserve could scale back its quantitative easing (QE) measures later this year, following a strong non-farm payrolls figure and an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate in February.

Market Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said: ‘The reaction seen in US stocks was not necessarily as strong as it could have been though and I think this highlights the unease suddenly being felt among investors in regards to the longevity of the Fed’s asset purchase programme.

‘The $85bn per month of asset purchases has filled the financial system with liquidity and has been almost wholly responsible for the rally that has pushed indices back to pre-financial crisis levels.’

E-Trade slumps on Citadel sale

Citadel said yesterday evening that it will sell its entire 8.2% stake in ETrade Financial, sending shares of the financial intermediary lower.

Samsung launched its new Galaxy Smartphone in the evening, though shares of fellow gadget maker Apple gained after BTIG Research upgraded the stock from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs lifted their price target on Linkedin to $220 from $157 per share before.

Meanwhile, JP Morgan downgraded Amazon.com to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’ and slashed its price target to $300 from $330 before.

Retailer Men’s Wearhouse climbed by nearly a fifth after saying that is exploring a possible sale of its K&G unit, which sells suits and accessories.

S&P 500 – Risers
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $22.52 +5.23%
Noble Corp (NE) $37.37 +4.62%
Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) $15.51 +4.23%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $33.71 +3.91%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $68.26 +3.80%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $67.82 +3.78%
Alpha Natural Res (ANR) $8.31 +3.75%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $57.68 +3.57%
Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) $24.15 +3.56%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $20.56 +3.47%

S&P 500 – Fallers
E*TRADE Financial Corp. (ETFC) $10.85 -8.21%
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) $21.70 -4.53%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $489.81 -3.83%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $265.74 -3.40%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $85.38 -2.27%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $188.29 -2.12%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $4.09 -1.68%
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (JCP) $15.39 -1.66%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $58.59 -1.60%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $91.31 -1.60%

Dow Jones I.A – Risers
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $21.93 +2.86%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $215.80 +1.76%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $51.00 +1.67%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $120.00 +1.39%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.48 +1.13%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $39.02 +1.11%
3M Co. (MMM) $106.02 +0.88%
General Electric Co. (GE) $23.69 +0.85%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $28.14 +0.79%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $77.39 +0.77%

Dow Jones I.A – Fallers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $70.24 -0.73%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $44.27 -0.72%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $88.70 -0.65%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $73.22 -0.58%
Boeing Co. (BA) $84.62 -0.15%
McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) $99.31 -0.07%

Nasdaq 100 – Risers
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $52.49 +2.90%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $63.87 +2.44%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $36.30 +2.04%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $27.80 +1.98%
Life Technologies Corp. (LIFE) $63.54 +1.97%
Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) $36.66 +1.86%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $9.69 +1.84%
Altera Corp. (ALTR) $35.61 +1.80%
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $83.14 +1.64%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $35.89 +1.63%

Nasdaq 100 – Fallers
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $489.81 -3.83%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $265.74 -3.40%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $58.59 -1.60%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $91.31 -1.60%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $57.67 -1.56%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $86.33 -1.51%
Catamaran Corp (CTRX) $53.00 -1.01%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $50.43 -0.86%
O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $103.50 -0.77%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $13.49 -0.66%

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