NEW YORK — Stocks finished higher Thursday as investors set aside some concerns about downbeat economic reports and focused on strong profits from Oracle Corp.
Corporate results and economic news offered investors a mixed picture and kept stocks fluctuating throughout much of the session.
Oracle Corp.’s upbeat results poked holes in Wall Street’s recent pessimism, and even a report from Bear Stearns Cos. of its first-ever quarterly loss seemed to offer relief to those fearing that its results could have been worse.
Economic news appeared to weigh on investors at times, however.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve said at midday that its index of regional business conditions showed a reading of negative 5.7, down sharply from a positive 8.2 in November.
The report came after word that a gauge of future business activity fell last month to its lowest level in more than two years. The Conference Board said its index of leading indicators, which looks three to six months ahead, dropped 0.4 percent in November. The reading suggests the economy could weaken in 2008 amid tight credit and continued troubles in the housing sector.
While investors ultimately seemed to look beyond the economic news, Sean Simko, head of fixed-income management at SEI Investments, said Wall Street’s recent moves aren’t showing much conviction, given relatively light trading volumes.
“You still have the uncertainty of what’s going to come out the next day, and you have the year-end coming up, so the market’s trading thin. A lot of people probably are sitting on the sidelines. That’s why these moves are exaggerated.”
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 38.37, or 0.29 percent, to 13,245.64.
Broader stock indicators also gained. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index advanced 7.12, 0.49 percent, to 1,460.12, and Oracle’s results helped push the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index up 39.85, or 1.53 percent, to 2,640.86.
The stock market’s relatively quiet session followed several up-and-down weeks that have left investors trying to gauge how the economy will fare.
While Wall Street heads toward holiday-shortened weeks that often bring little action, stocks could still see further volatility, particularly given the expiration of options contracts today. Known as “quadruple witching,” it marks the expiration of contracts for stock-index futures, stock-index options, stock options and single-stock futures.
The report from Bear Stearns came a day after Morgan Stanley said an investment arm of the Chinese government had agreed to invest $5 billion in the company. The news calmed some fears that Wall Street’s major players would face severe liquidity crunches.
Banks worldwide have been hesitant to lend to one another amid concerns about souring debt tied to mortgages.
Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research, contends the ability of banks like Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. to arrange cash infusions from well-heeled foreign governments appeared to quiet some of Wall Street’s unease.
“The Morgan Stanley announcement combined with the Citigroup announcement establishes this kind of a backstop on the financials,” he said.
