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NEW YORK - Investors are cautiously moving back into stocks after being reassured by better earnings from Alcoa Inc and a decline in claims for jobless benefits.
Stocks edged higher on Thursday after Alcoa reported a smaller-than-expected loss after trading closed on Wednesday, kicking off the second-quarter earnings season.
Investors were encouraged also by a report from the Labor Department showing that the number of initial jobless benefits claims fell last week to 565,000 - the lowest level since early January and better than the 605,000 analysts were expecting.
Some of the improvement was due to changes in the timing of auto industry layoffs and the holiday-shortened week, however.
In other economic data, the Commerce Department said wholesale inventories fell for a ninth straight month in May as businesses continued to trim stockpiles. Inventories dipped 0.8 percent in May, slightly smaller than the 1 percent decline economists had expected.
The better news on jobless claims and inventories was tempered by generally weaker sales at retailers in June, which held back the market's gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had edged up 4.76 points, 0.06 per cent, to 8,183.17 at settlement.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 5.38 points, 0.31 per cent, to 1,752.55 and the broad-market Standard Poor's 500 index climbed 3.12 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 882.68.
LONDON - European stock markets halted a three-day losing streak and finished in positive territory on better-than-expected US employment data.
In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 18.43 points, or 0.45 per cent, to close at 4,158.66.
FRANKFURT - The Dax added 57.42 points, or 1.26 per cent, to close at 4,630.07.
PARIS - The CAC 40 rose 16.23 points, or 0.54 per cent, to reach 3,025.94.
SYDNEY - The Australian sharemarket is likely to open higher following mild gains on Wall Street overnight and higher commodity prices.
At 0710 AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract was 13 points higher at 3,748.
In economic news, the Australian Office of Financial Management is due to conduct a tender for $700 million in June 2011 bonds.
In equities, Allco Finance Group Ltd will hold a creditors meeting in Sydney.
The Australian share market closed flat on Thursday for the second consecutive day, as better than expected employment figures helped stocks rebound from early losses.
The benchmark SP/ASX200 index was 4.6 points, or 0.12 per cent, lower at 3763.3, and the broader All Ordinaries index also shed 4.6 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 3761.4 points.
