US Close: Stocks end slightly higher in run up to non-farm payrolls report
US stocks closed higher on Thursday, rebounding from a two-session losing streak as investors looked ahead to the official monthly jobs report and weighed the European Central Bank’s (ECB) stimulus programme.
At close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.22%, the Nasdaq gained 0.32% while the S&P 500 was 0.12% higher.
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its hotly anticipated February employment report. Economists broadly expect improvements in the labour market - unemployment is predicted to have dropped to 5.6%, while non-farm payrolls are expected to have increased by 235,000, compared to 257,000 the month before.
A bullish ECB revealed that its €1.1trn quantitative easing programme would begin on 9 March and carry through at €60bn a month through September 2016 and thereafter if needed. The central bank raised GDP growth forecasts for 2015 by 0.5 percentage points (ppt) to 1.5%, for 2016 by 0.3 ppt to 1.8% and released a first forecast of 2.1% for 2017.
Policymakers also raised emergency liquidity assistance for Greece by €500m and removed the waiver on purchases of the nation's debt.
In economic data, factory orders unexpectedly declined 0.2% in January after a revised 3.5% drop in December; the consensus estimate was for 0.2% growth. Non-farm productivity in the fourth quarter was revised to show a 2.2% fall.
Meanwhile, initial US jobless claims rose 7,000 in the week ended 28 February to 320,000, a level not seen since May 2014. Analysts had been anticipating a fall to 295,000 from 313,000 the week before.
“Layoffs last week accelerated and the trend has gone up, which disappointed investors. But factory orders were not as bad as feared. How markets react to Friday’s job report will depend on how much emphasis investors put on bad weather,” Fort Pitt Capital’s analyst Kim Forrest said.
In company news, Pharmacyclics surged after AbbVie said it would spend $21bn on the company to boost its cancer drug pipeline.
Joy Global was in the red after reporting quarterly profits that came in below expectations. The company also lowered its outlook for the year and said it would speed plans to reduce costs.
Costco Wholesale shares gained after the company revealed its fiscal second-quarter profit rose 29%, ahead of analyst expectations, helped by a $57 million tax benefit.
S&P 500 - Risers
Kroger Co. (KR) $74.31 +6.69%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $127.00 +5.79%
Macerich Co (MAC) $88.07 +5.10%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $428.95 +3.85%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $24.01 +3.31%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $25.07 +2.79%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $50.69 +2.78%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $15.92 +2.78%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $425.61 +2.77%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $151.17 +2.72%
S&P 500 - Fallers
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $56.85 -5.67%
Joy Global Inc. (JOY) $39.94 -5.20%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $32.00 -4.25%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $20.18 -3.31%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $50.38 -2.93%
Flowserve Corp. (FLS) $59.02 -2.69%
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) $8.34 -2.63%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $46.08 -2.39%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $6.60 -2.37%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $53.59 -2.17%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $83.57 +1.20%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $161.18 +1.10%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $115.90 +0.99%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $98.45 +0.95%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $102.54 +0.88%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $114.79 +0.85%
American Express Co. (AXP) $81.17 +0.67%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $107.59 +0.66%
General Electric Co. (GE) $25.82 +0.62%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $84.64 +0.34%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.72 -1.17%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $99.10 -1.15%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $86.74 -0.50%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $105.04 -0.50%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $34.47 -0.49%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $104.76 -0.38%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.92 -0.31%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $81.49 -0.29%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $120.75 -0.24%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.40 -0.24%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $127.00 +5.79%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $200.13 +3.87%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $428.95 +3.85%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $214.23 +3.15%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $50.69 +2.78%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $425.61 +2.77%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $151.17 +2.72%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $40.62 +2.01%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $38.54 +1.97%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $56.69 +1.94%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $126.39 -1.67%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $62.23 -1.46%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $87.95 -1.45%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.72 -1.17%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $26.09 -1.12%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $200.63 -0.89%
Altera Corp. (ALTR) $36.02 -0.80%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $98.68 -0.79%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $184.42 -0.71%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $33.56 -0.71%