NEW YORK: US stocks rose on Wednesday following an upbeat report on durable goods orders and amid hopes that the US central bank chief might endorse new stimulus measures later this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 143.95 points (1.29 percent) to close at 11,320.71.
The broader S&P 500 rose 15.25 points (1.31 percent) to 1,177.60, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 21.63 points (0.88 percent) to close at 2,467.69.
US stocks have risen for the past three days, regaining some of the ground they lost during a long slide in which the Dow slumped for four weeks amid fears of a slowing US economy and Europe's debt crisis.
Early on Wednesday, the US Commerce Department gave the market a boost when it said new orders for durable goods rebounded 4.0 percent in July from June, lifted by a surge in aircraft orders.
Separately, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is set to give a speech on Friday which will be closely watched for signs of whether he endorses a further loosening of monetary policy to boost the sluggish US economy.
Last year, during a speech at the same annual central bankers' conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Bernanke hinted that the Fed might launch a second round of quantitative easing - essentially, injecting fresh money into the economy in a bid to pump up growth. The Fed later carried through on the policy, fuelling a months-long stock market rally.
"Some of the optimism may be coming (out) of what may come out of Jackson Hole at the end of this week," said Lindsey Piegza, an economist with FTN Financial.
Banking stocks performed strongly on Wednesday, led by Bank of America, which surged 11.0 percent.
Its stock fell sharply earlier this week amid doubts about the strength of its capital base, leading some analysts to declare it undervalued.
JPMorgan Chase gained 3.0 percent for the day, while Goldman Sachs was up 3.2 percent and Citigroup was up 4.1 percent. (AFP)
U.S. stock futures fell Thursday after a report that the jobs market remains stagnant.
The government said that the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time last week rose to 400,000 from 398,000 the previous week. The increase was slightly less than Wall Street's estimate of 405,000 claims.
Stocks have been volatile this week because of concerns that the U.S. economy is weakening. Manufacturing, consumer spending and hiring by private companies are each below what typically signifies a healthy, growing economy.
Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures are down 127 points, or 1.1 percent, to 11,691. Standard and Poor's 500-index futures are down 17, or 1.3 percent, to 1,238. Nasdaq 100 futures are down 27, or 1.2 percent, to 2,275.
Stock futures do not always accurately predict the direction of the market once trading opens, however.
Kraft Foods rose more than 6 percent in premarket trading after the company said that it plans to split into two. One company will focus on snacks such as Oreo cookies and the other will target the North American grocery business. General Motors Co. fell 0.5 percent in pre-market trading despite beating analyst estimates. And CVS Caremark fell nearly 3 percent before the market opened after its revenue slipped last quarter.
Several national retailers are announcing July sales results throughout the day. Target gained 0.5 percent in premarket trading after its revenue at stores open at least a year beat Wall Street's estimates. Gap Inc. fell 1 percent in premarket trading after it said that its revenue was flat compared with the same time last year.
The Dow rose 30 points -- after being down 166 -- to break an eight-day losing streak Wednesday. Nine days would have been the longest since February 1978. The S&P 500 index rose 6 points and broke a seven-day streak.(AP)
Stocks struggled for direction Wednesday, following a handful of positive earnings results, but were weighed down after existing home sales tumbled unexpectedly to a seven-month low.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped, after ending sharply higher in the previous session.
0.39 (+4.08%) 
] and Boeing [BA 72.85 2.32 (+3.29%) ] rose, while United Tech [UTX 86.51 
-2.31 (-2.6%) ] slipped. “This is a bipolar market,” said Alan Valdes, director of floor operations at DME Securities. “If there’s anything you can be sure of, it’s volatility and that’s where you’re going to make your money.”
0.39 (+4.08%) ], Citigroup [C 38.80 0.78 (+2.05%) ] and JPMorgan [JPM 41.272 0.882 (+2.18%) ], which recently all hit fresh 52-week lows, were trading to the upside. 12.7393 (+3.38%) ] surged after the iPod maker beat earnings expectations on Tuesday afternoon and hinted at a new product launch, which most analysts believe to be a new iPhone. At least five brokerages raised their price targets on the firm. 2.81 (+1.53%) ] and USBancorp [USB 26.07 1.04 (+4.16%) ] rose after both firms posted earnings that beat Wall Street expectations. -0.57 (-1.08%) ] slipped, even after the pharmaceutical company reported better-than-expected earnings helped by strong sales growth in emerging markets and demand for its arthritis drug, Humira. -1.5099 (-3.64%) ] fell even after the auto parts maker reported a stronger-than-expected profit thanks to a fast recovery from the impact of the Japanese earthquake. 0.13 (+0.25%) ], Intel [INTC 23.12 0.06 (+0.26%) ], Qualcomm [QCOM 57.73 0.75 (+1.32%) ], ETrade and Ebay [EBAY 33.43 -0.33 (-0.98%) ] among others are slated to post earnings after-the-bell tonight. 1.95 (+15.06%) ] jumped after Citadel, the firm's biggest shareholder, urged the financial services firm to explore a possible sale. 0.07 (+1.42%) ] advanced after the parent of American Airlines said it plans to purchase 460 narrowbody Boeing [BA 72.8531 2.3231 (+3.29%) ] 737s and Airbus EADS A320s from 2013 through 2022. 2.6275 (+3.62%) ] jumped after billionaire investor Carl Icahn raised his offer to buy the household products company to $80 a share from $76.50 after the company rejected his previous offer. 0.29 (+1.84%) ] continued to gain after Rupert and James Murdoch testified to a UK parliamentary committee on the phone hacking scandal. Analysts pointed to a relief rally that the hearing did not uncover anything too damaging. 7.212 (+24.98%) ] surged more than 30 percent after Ecolab [ECL 51.37 -4.02 (-7.26%) ] said it would purchase the water treatment company for $5.4 billion. 24.64 (+123.2%) ] skyrocketed more than 100 percent in its trading debt. And headphone vendor Skullcandy [SKUL 21.50 1.50 (+7.5%) ] jumped more than 10 percent in its debut. 
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