NEW YORK — Stocks bounded higher Thursday thanks to a jump in manufacturing activity and growing confidence that Ireland will resolve its debt crisis.
However, most eyes were glued on General Motors, an American icon that re- emerged from bankruptcy in the largest initial public offering in U.S. history. Its shares, trading under the symbol GM, rose 3.6 percent to $34.19. GM’s stock amounted to 9.7 percent of all shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Stocks got an early boost from a surprisingly strong reading on manufacturing from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The report said factory orders in the mid-Atlantic region expanded at the fastest rate since December.
“The Philly Fed data shows that the economy had been getting better on its own without the Fed’s help,” said Michael Strauss, chief economist for Commonfund, referring to a stimulus plan by the Federal Reserve announced Nov. 3.
The Fed is buying up to $600 billion worth of Treasury bonds through the spring. The tactic is intended to spur spending by pushing interest rates down.
The manufacturing report helped industrials and materials companies. Alcoa Inc. jumped 3.4 percent, making it the biggest gainer among the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones industrial average. General Electric Co. rose 1.5 percent, and Caterpillar Inc. rose 2.4 percent. Intel Corp. was the only stock in the Dow to fall.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 173.35, or 1.6 percent, to close at 11,181.23. It was the Dow’s first gain in three days. Thanks to a 178-point plunge Tuesday on worries about Ireland’s debt crisis and a slowdown in China, the Dow is still down 0.1 percent for the week.
The broader Standard and Poor’s 500 index rose 18.10, or 1.5 percent, to 1,196.69. The technology-focused Nasdaq composite index rose 38.39, or 1.6 percent, to close at 2,514.40.
Shares jumped in Europe after Ireland moved closer to accepting financial assistance from the European Union. Ireland has nationalized three of its six local banks after a collapse of the country’s real-estate market.
Ireland is also expected to accept a loan worth tens of billions of euros from Great Britain.
