September 4, 2009
Wall Street rose on Thursday as investors digested fresh reports on job market, consumer spending and service industries.
The U.S. Labor Department said the number of unemployed workers filing for jobless benefits fell last week by 4,000 to 570,000, but that was still more than the 560,000 figure the market had expected.
Meanwhile, the market closely looked at sales reports from major retailers for more insight on consumer spending that accounts for 70 percent of the U.S. economy. Early reports showed six retailers missed analyst expectations while three exceeded estimates.
Costco's shares, which were upgraded by JPMorgan, climbed 8.6 percent to 55 U.S. dollars, while Target gained 1.7 percent to 47.07 dollars.
Mining company shares rose after gold prices climbed to 997.20 dollars an ounce, the highest since late February. Newmont Mining Corp and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc both rose more than 4 percent.
The Institute for Supply Management's index of non-manufacturing businesses, which make up almost 90 percent of the economy, rose from 46.4 in July to 48.4 in August, exceeding forecasts and representing the highest level in 11 months.
The Dow Jones average rose 63.94, or 0.7 percent, to 9,344.61. The S&P 500 index rose 8.49, or 0.9 percent, to 1,003.24, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 16.13, or 0.8 percent, to 1,983.20.