Investing.com - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday after tepid economic indicators dampened expectations for the Federal Reserve to scale back stimulus measures.
Monetary stimulus tools such as the Fed's USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program push down interest rates and flood the economy with liquidity, a combination that sends stock prices rising as a side effect.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.14%, the S&P 500 index ended up 0.37%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.69%.
Soft growth, housing and jobs data out of the U.S. sent stocks making cautious gains on Thursday on sentiments the Fed will keep its ultra-loose monetary policies in place longer than expected.
Volumes were light, though they picked up at the end of the session, as equities investors digested the data and concluded the indicators weren't too disappointing but soft enough to merit the Fed to keep stimulus programs in place.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that it revised the U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product growth rate down to 2.4% from a preliminary reading of 2.5%.
Analysts were expecting the rate to remain unchanged.
Personal spending rose 3.4% in the first quarter, up from a preliminary estimate of 3.3%.
A unexpected gain in the number of individuals filing for unemployment assistance for the first time also rekindled talk of monetary policy remaining loose.
The Department of Labor said the number of people filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. last week rose by 10,000 to 354,000, defying market expectations for a decline of 4,000 to 340,000.
Elsewhere, a separate report released by the National Association of Realtors said that its April pending home sales index rose 0.3% to hit the highest level on three years, though the number fell short of market calls for a 1.1% increase.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Bank of America, up 2.67%, UnitedHealth Group, up 2.08%, and JPMorgan Chase, up 1.74%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Walt Disney, down 2.41%, McDonald's, down 2.01%, and Coca-Cola, down 1.55%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.45%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.56%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished up 0.76%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.45%.
On Friday, the U.S. is to round up the week with revised data on consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan, as well as data on personal income and expenditure and a report on manufacturing activity in Chicago.
Monetary stimulus tools such as the Fed's USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program push down interest rates and flood the economy with liquidity, a combination that sends stock prices rising as a side effect.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.14%, the S&P 500 index ended up 0.37%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.69%.
Soft growth, housing and jobs data out of the U.S. sent stocks making cautious gains on Thursday on sentiments the Fed will keep its ultra-loose monetary policies in place longer than expected.
Volumes were light, though they picked up at the end of the session, as equities investors digested the data and concluded the indicators weren't too disappointing but soft enough to merit the Fed to keep stimulus programs in place.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that it revised the U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product growth rate down to 2.4% from a preliminary reading of 2.5%.
Analysts were expecting the rate to remain unchanged.
Personal spending rose 3.4% in the first quarter, up from a preliminary estimate of 3.3%.
A unexpected gain in the number of individuals filing for unemployment assistance for the first time also rekindled talk of monetary policy remaining loose.
The Department of Labor said the number of people filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. last week rose by 10,000 to 354,000, defying market expectations for a decline of 4,000 to 340,000.
Elsewhere, a separate report released by the National Association of Realtors said that its April pending home sales index rose 0.3% to hit the highest level on three years, though the number fell short of market calls for a 1.1% increase.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Bank of America, up 2.67%, UnitedHealth Group, up 2.08%, and JPMorgan Chase, up 1.74%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Walt Disney, down 2.41%, McDonald's, down 2.01%, and Coca-Cola, down 1.55%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.45%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.56%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished up 0.76%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.45%.
On Friday, the U.S. is to round up the week with revised data on consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan, as well as data on personal income and expenditure and a report on manufacturing activity in Chicago.