NEW YORK — Stocks ended higher for the third straight session Thursday, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average to a multiyear high, as investors took confidence from a slew of stronger earnings and outlooks. Markets were closed Friday in observance of Good Friday.
“Earnings do tend to drive the market, and that’s what we’re seeing,” said Rose Greene, owner of Rose Greene Financial, an independent representative of LPL Financial.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 52.45 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,505.99. It was the highest close for the Dow since June 5, 2008. Travelers shares led gains for 19 of 30 Dow components, rising 3.7 percent after the insurer reported a jump in profit, citing more demand from business customers, and raised its dividend.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 7.02 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,337.38, with materials — particularly chemical stocks — and tech shares leading gains booked by all 10 industry groups.
The Nasdaq composite rose 17.65 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,820.16.
The day’s rise cemented weekly gains for a trading span shortened by the Good Friday holiday. For the week, the Dow and S&P 500 ended up 1.3 percent, while the Nasdaq gained 2 percent.
The week ahead will be key in determining whether there’s reason for the market to continue to trend higher, and how much rising commodities costs have pressured margins, with companies such as Whirlpool, Coca-Cola and Kimberly- Clark among those scheduled to report.
Rising commodity costs mean little to some of the companies that have already reported, such as Intel, Bank of America or Goldman Sachs, said LPL chief investment officer Burt White.
“But if Coca-Cola is saying, ‘Sugar’s too high and it’s hurting our margins,’ then we could be in for a decent-sized pullback,” he said.
Although the Philadelphia Fed’s report that manufacturing in the region had slipped to a five- month low was the biggest surprise in the economic data, White said he was most distressed by jobless claims, saying the last really good claims data, relative to expectations, came March 3.
