US stocks finished higher on Thursday as investors cheered better-than-expected corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52.45 points, or 0.42%, to finish at 12,505.99. The S&P 500 added 7.02 points, or 0.53%, to close at 1,337.38. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 17.65 points, or 0.63%, to 2,820.16.
A release by Department of Labor on Thursday showed number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits dropped 13,000 to 403,000 in the week ending April 16. Economists expected jobless claims to drop to 380,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims, a less volatile gauge, increased 2,250 to 399,000. Continuing claims for the week ending April 9 fell 7,000 to 3.70 million.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said its manufacturing activity index declined to 18.5 from 43.4 the prior month. Economists were expecting the figure to drop to 33.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported late Wednesday that its fiscal second quarter profit jumped to $5.99 billion, or $6.40 per share, from $3.07 billion, or $3.33 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue surged to $24.67 billion from $13.50 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of $5.35 per share on revenue of $23.27 billion. Apple shares rallied $8.29, or 2.42%, to $350.70.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reported Thursday that its first-quarter net profit climbed to $3.43 billion, or 31 cents a share, from $1.95 billion, or 17 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 33 cents a share. Revenue increased 6% to $38.4 billion from $36.20 billion. Analysts, on average, had expected the company to report earnings of 28 cents on revenue of $34.64 billion. GE shares slipped 45 cents, or 2.21%, to $19.95.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) reported Thursday that its first-quarter profit rose to $1.44 billion, or 51 cents a share, from a profit of $443 million, or 16 cents a share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 48 cents a share in the latest quarter. Revenue climbed to $27 billion from $26.91 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 50 cents per share on revenue of $26.89 billion. Verizon shares dropped 88 cents, or 2.33%, to $36.91.
Shares of Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) rallied 6 cents, or 3.21%, to $1.93.
European stocks closed mixed. The UK FTSE fell 3.96 points, or 0.07% to 6,018.30. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.64% and 0.43% respectively.
Asian stocks finished higher. The Nikkei 225 rose 78.95 points, or 0.82%, to 9,685.77. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong climbed 242.21 points, or 1.01%, to 24,138.31.
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