NEW YORK — Stocks finished with modest gains Thursday after pulling back from a rally that pushed share prices near their highest levels of the year.
All three major stock indexes finished higher after an up- and-down trading session. Stocks initially jumped as much as 1 percent after another round of earnings announcements, then traded briefly in the red in the afternoon before a final push higher.
After the market closed, Internet retailer Inc. reported it earned 51 cents per share in the third quarter, which was 3 cents higher than analysts were expecting. The company’s operating expenses were also 40 percent higher than this time last year, which helped push its shares down about 4 percent in after-market trading.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 38.60, or 0.4 percent, to close at 11,146.57. It briefly eclipsed its highest closing level of 2010, which it reached April 26. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.09, or 0.2 percent, to 1,180.26, while the Nasdaq rose 2.28, or 0.1 percent, to 2,459.67.
The Dow had been up as much as 105 points after three members of the index — Caterpillar Inc., Travelers Cos. and McDonald’s Corp. — all beat earnings expectations.
Traders were also looking at data that did not provide a clear outlook for the economy. First- time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, but the decline was offset by a sharp upward revision to the previous week’s claims. Unemployment claims are stuck at levels that indicate companies are still not hiring many workers.
The Chinese government, meanwhile, said that country’s economic growth slowed to an annualized 9.6 percent in the third quarter. China has been trying to slow its rapid growth to a more sustainable level that would keep inflation from getting out of control.
But a slowdown in China could also have an effect on exports and sales to that country.
“It was a mixed day for earnings reports and economic data, and the stock market is reflecting that,” said Brad Soren sen, a director of sector research at Charles Schwab.
Bank of America Corp. again hurt the Dow as it continues to be dogged by worries about whether investors will force the bank to buy back mortgages it originated. Shares of the North Carolina bank were down 39 cents, or 3.3 percent. The company has fallen 13 percent this month.
Stocks of other big national banks were also mostly lower on the day.
Home Depot Inc., with a gain of 3.5 percent, was the top-performing stock in the Dow.
Caterpillar hit a high for the year early in the morning before pulling back. United Parcel Service Inc.’s profit jumped, and the shipping company raised its outlook. But it too retreated after coming within $1 of a new high for the year.
