Stocks trade in tight range after 5 days of gains; jobless claims rise, UPS boosts view

Stocks drift on higher jobless claims, UPS outlook

NEW YORK — Stocks traded in a tight range Thursday after mixed economic reports prompted investors to take a break from buying after five days of gains.

Analysts said a slowdown in the market’s upward push was overdue. The Dow Jones industrial average on Monday closed above 11,000 for the first time in a year and a half and shot up more than 100 points on Wednesday. Other major stock indexes have also climbed to their highest levels since 2008.

The Dow rose about 15 points in afternoon trading.

The Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly for the second straight week. Federal Reserve figures on industrial production fell short of forecasts but did indicate growth for the ninth straight month.

An encouraging earnings outlook from UPS Inc. and stronger regional Fed manufacturing reports offset some of the concern about the jobs figures.

UPS said late Wednesday its per-share earnings rose 33 percent for the first quarter. The company raised its full-year earnings forecast because of an increase in international shipping. As the world’s largest shipping company, UPS’s results are seen as an early indicator of overall business activity.

UPS shares rose more than 6 percent.

Investors placed more bets on banks after JPMorgan Chase & Co. posted stronger earnings Wednesday. Shares of Citigroup Inc. rose above the psychological barrier of $5 for the first time since October.

A second straight week of weak employment numbers kept stocks in check. The government said first-time claims for jobless benefits rose by 24,000 to 484,000 last week, the highest level since late February. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters forecast a drop to 440,000, on average.

The stock market has been churning higher after major stock indexes hit 12-year lows in March last year. Growing expectations for a recovery have been driving the climb. The increases in the past two months have been more subdued, with fewer big moves.

Charlie Smith, chief investment officer at Fort Pitt Capital in Pittsburgh, said the market’s more recent steady advance is welcome because it means investors aren’t getting overly optimistic.

“We are seeing a straight line (higher) but there’s not a whole lot of exuberance to it,” he said. “There is a tremendous amount of skepticism about the market and that’s a good thing.”

In midafternoon trading, the Dow rose 14.21, or 0.1 percent, to 11,137.32. The S&P 500 rose 2.53, or 0.2 percent, to 1,213.18, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 10.91, or 0.4 percent, to 2,515.77.

Falling stocks narrowly outnumbered those that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 685 million shares, compared with 669 million traded at the same point Wednesday.

Bond prices rose, pushing their yields lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.84 percent from 3.87 percent late Wednesday.

The dollar and gold both rose.

Crude oil fell 30 cents to $85.54 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Federal Reserve said industrial production rose 0.1 percent in March. Despite the continued growth, the number fell short of analysts’ expectations. Economists predicted production at the nations’ factories, mines and utilities would rise 0.7 percent in March.

The New York Federal Reserve’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey rose more than expected for April. A similar snapshot of regional manufacturing from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve also signaled that conditions are improving.

Among stocks in the news, UPS rose $4.03, or 6.2 percent, to $69.47.

Citigroup fell 2 cents to $4.91 after trading as high as $5.07.

Google Inc. rose $6.19 to $595.19. The Internet search company is expected to report quarterly earnings after the closing bell.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.01, or less than 0.1 percent, to 722.41.

Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent, while Germany’s DAX index and France’s CAC-40 each rose 0.2 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.6 percent.