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US and European stock markets up

18 September 2009 08:10 (UTC +04:00)

Baku- APA-Economics. Stocks edged higher Thursday after the government said weekly unemployment claims dipped unexpectedly and that housing starts rose again last month, AP reported.
The Labor Department said workers filing for jobless claims for the first time dipped to 545,000 last week from an upwardly revised 557,000 the previous week. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting claims to rise.
It was the lowest level of new claims since early July, indicating job cuts could be easing. However, those continuing to file for claims increased to 6.2 million. Analysts were expecting continuing claims to total about 6.1 million. Unemployment often peaks after a recovery is under way.
Many economists consider unemployment to be the biggest obstacle to a rebound in the economy so signs of improvement are welcome for investors.
Separately, the Commerce Department said housing starts increased in August to their highest level in nine months amid a jump in apartment building. Housing starts rose 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 598,000 units last month, just below the pace of 600,000 units economists had forecast.
In another positive sign, the Philadelphia Fed’s index of regional manufacturing conditions rose to 14.1 in September from 4.2 in August. The latest figure is the highest since June 2007 and the second straight positive reading. But a drop in new orders from August worried some investors.
The modest gains in stocks come as the market has risen eight of the past nine days. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is up 58 percent from a 12-year low in early March.
David Chalupnik, head of equities at First American Funds, said the unemployment figures are encouraging for a recovery but that stocks will still need a break before moving significantly higher again. "Eventually the market does need to take a breather," he said.
In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 28.49, or 0.3 percent, to 9,820.20. On Wednesday, the Dow jumped 108 points to a high for the year.
The S&P 500 index rose 2.56, or 0.2 percent, to 1,071.32, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 3.58, or 0.2 percent, to 2,136.73.
Major indexes rose for a third straight day Wednesday after a strong report on industrial production raised hopes the economy is strengthening. The Fed said the nation’s industrial output jumped 0.8 percent in August, the second consecutive month of improvement.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.44 percent from 3.48 percent late Wednesday.
The dollar was mixed against other currencies, while gold prices fell.
Three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 437.1 million shares compared with 427.9 million shares.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 2.73, or 0.4 percent, to 620.11.
Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 1.7 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7 percent, Germany’s DAX index gained 0.6 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.4 percent.