NEW YORK — Stocks closed higher for a second day Thursday after traders found room for optimism in mixed economic reports.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose six points, one day after leaping by 226. It was the first back-to-back gain for the Dow since late April.
Stocks climbed on reports that business at the nation’s service companies grew in May and that the number of people seeking first-time jobless claims slipped for a second week. The gains faded at times as the day wore on, but stocks recovered by the close as traders looked to the Labor Department’s May jobs report today.
The employment report is the most closely watched item on the economic calendar. Economists predict that employers added 513,000 jobs in May. It would be the biggest jump in 26 years, but as many as 400,000 of the workers hired in May were expected to be temporary positions to help conduct the U.S. census.
The economic news gave a boost to much of the market, but energy stocks posted some of the biggest gains after the price of oil rose.
Stocks have moved erratically in the past week after major indexes hit trading lows for the year May 25. The market has been vulnerable to swings because of worries about the economic fallout of the gulf oil spill and the economic problems in Europe.
The Dow rose 5.74, or 0.1 percent, to 10,255.28. The Dow’s two-day gain of 231 points, or 2.3 percent, was the first two-day rise since April 28-29.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 4.45, or 0.4 percent, to 1,102.83, while the technology-focused Nasdaq composite index rose 21.96, or 1 percent, to 2,303.03.
