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NEW YORK - US stocks closed higher on Thursday after new data showing an improvement in the job market and a narrowing trade gap bolstered hopes that the US economy was on a recovery track.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 28.23 points (0.27 percent) to 10,415.24 in closing trades, while the broader S&P 500 index gained 5.31 points (0.48 percent) to 1,104.18 points.
The tech-rich Nasdaq composite index was up 7.33 points (0.33 percent) to 2,236.20.
Shortly before the opening bell, Labor Department figures showed the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits last week fell faster than expected to 451,000, down 27,000 from the previous week's revised figure.
Data released by the Department of Commerce showed the US trade deficit dropped more than expected in July to 42.8 billion dollars as exports reached their highest level in two years, further boosting confidence.
The indexes slipped in late trading amid low activity and after a Labor Department official said that the jobs report excluded full figures from nine states.
"It is a holiday day, so the markets are quite quiet," said Mace Blicksilver, an analyst at Marblehead Asset Management.
Traders "got a jump from the lower claims numbers, but the report itself is kind of shaky. Nine of the states did not provide data so next week we could get a revision the other way."
Among the stocks in focus, McDonald's shares dropped 2.26 percent after the fast food chain announced that it same-store sales rose by 4.9 percent in August, lower than most expectations.
Software company Adobe's shares soared by more than 12 percent after Apple announced it has relaxed its restrictions on the development of applications for its popular iPhone using Adobe's Flash software.
The bond market was lower as investors felt confident in the stock market.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond jumped to 2.761 percent from 2.654 percent on Wednesday while that on the 30-year bond was up to 3.845 percent from 3.723 percent. Bond yield and prices move in opposite directions.
- AFP /ls
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