Dawn Chorus: Wall Street gains on positive economic figures

US stocks inched higher on Thursday as investors built on Wednesday’s sharp advance amid slightly better-than-expected data on initial jobless claims, pending home sales and retailers’ same-store sales.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 51 points, or 0.49%, to 10,320. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 10 points, or 0.91%, to 1,090.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 23 points, or 1%, to close at 2,200.

The Labour Department said that jobless claims declined slightly last week, to 472,000 from a revised 478,000 for the week before. In another report, National Association of Realtors said pending home sales increased unexpectedly in July, rising 5.2% compared with the consensus forecast for a 1% decline.

Factory orders also climbed, rising 0.1% in July. Positive sentiment was further boosted after most retailers reporting same-store sales from August beat analyst expectations.

Nordstrom, JC Penney and Limited Brands gained at least 3.2% after reporting better-than-expected August same-store sales. Burger King Holdings added 25% after affiliates of 3G Capital offered $4 billion for the company. 

Chipmaker shares also rose for a second day running. Broadcom, up $1.63 at $32.71, posted a 9.2% advance in the last two sessions.

European stocks ended mostly flat on Thursday, as investors remained cautious ahead of Friday's US payrolls. The FTSEurofirst 300 index closed 0.1% lower at 1,055 points. UK's FTSE 100 ended up 0.1%, Germany's DAX index was flat and France's CAC 40 gained 0.2%.

In Asia, shares rose on Friday in response to positive economic figures from the US and improved retail sales. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.3% to 120 as of 11:08 a.m. in Tokyo. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.4%. South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 0.2%.

In China, shares fluctuated on Friday as consumer staples gained while banks declined. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.2 point, or less than 0.1%, to 2,655 as of 9:38 a.m. in Shanghai. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.08% to 20,887.