Stocks drift as investors take some profits
NEW YORK -- Stocks rose briefly following upbeat readings on the job market and sales at major retailers, but then fell back as some investors took profits.
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Weekly claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly dropped last week to their lowest level since January. And many retailers, including Wal-Mart and Traget, reported better-than-expected April sales.
The reports come as investors await official release of results from the government's stress tests of bank balance sheets, expected after the closing bell.
Bond prices dropped as demand for government debt waned. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, jumped to 3.22% from 3.16% late Wednesday.
The dollar rose against the euro and the British pound after the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate a quarter point to 1% an announced other measures to ease credit. Gold prices rose.
Light, sweet crude rose $1.45 to $57.79 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average jumped 4.6% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 2.3%. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 2.6%, Germany's DAX index was up 1.4%, and France's CAC-40 was up 1.7%.
