U.S. stocks rise as investors anticipate jobs report
U.S. stocks advanced on Thursday after jobless claims unexpectedly declined last week, offering an upbeat signal on the labor market a day ahead of monthly payrolls data.
The March jobs report comes on Good Friday, a holiday for the U.S. stock market.
The Labor Department reported jobless claims fell by 20,000 to 268,000, the lowest since January.
Another report had factory orders rising 0.2 percent in February, the first increase since July.
"The economy continues to expand," Gus Faucher, senior economist at PNC, told CBS MoneyWatch. "We're adding 250,000 to 275,000 jobs per month, and consumer incomes are growing so consumers are spending more. The one drag is from overseas."
CarMax (KMX) gained after it posted fourth-quarter results that beat estimates; Micron Technology (MU) edged higher after projecting lower revenue for the current quarter.
As of 11:30 a.m. ET, the Dow industrials (DJI) were up 60 points, or 0.4 percent, at 17,766; the S&P 500 (SPX) gained 9 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,068, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) rose 11 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,891.