US stocks: Market rallies as oil drops, Alcoa leads Dow

NEW YORK - US stocks rallied on Thursday, with the Dow and S&P 500 ending higher for the fourth consecutive session, as a drop in oil prices and earnings reports from aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. and retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. lifted the market.

Alcoa, a Dow component, shot up 5 per cent, or US$1.49, to US$31.47 a day after the company posted a 13 per cent increase in fourth-quarter revenues and earnings that met Wall Street expectations.

Bed, Bath & Beyond jumped 11 per cent, or US$4.06, to US$40.80, boosting the Nasdaq a day after the company posted fourth-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street estimates.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 60.30 points, or 0.58 per cent, to close at 10,546.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 7.07 points, or 0.60 per cent, to finish at 1,191.14. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 19.65 points, or 0.98 per cent, to end at 2,018.79.

"Oil prices are slipping, and that's generally good news for the market," said Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist at PNC Advisors.

"But it goes beyond that. We just started earnings season and whenever we make that shift, the tone generally tends to improve," Kleintop said, adding that Alcoa and Bed, Bath & Beyond infused some optimism into the market on Thursday.

It was the first time in more than three months that the Dow ended higher for four straight sessions, while for the S&P, it was the first time in two months. The S&P 500 closed at its highest level in three weeks.

Trading was active, with 1.49 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange, just above the 1.46 billion daily average for last year. About 1.72 billion shares were traded on Nasdaq, below the 1.81 billion daily average last year.

Advancers outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by a 5 to 3 and margin and nearly 3 to 2 on Nasdaq.

US light crude for May delivery fell US$1.74 to settle at US$54.11, well below Monday's record at US$58.28. The drop in crude temporarily eased worries, as surging oil prices fuel concerns that energy costs will pinch corporate profits and curb consumer spending.

Shares of Dell Inc. rose 0.9 per cent, or 35 cents, to US$38.50 after the No. 1 personal computer maker affirmed its first-quarter outlook on Wednesday, although its chief executive said growth in the personal computer industry during the first quarter appears to be slower than the company had expected.

Retailers reported mixed results as they announced March same-store sales figures.

Clothing retailer Talbots Inc. tumbled almost 11 per cent, or US$3.55, to US$29.30 after saying first-quarter earnings would be at the low end of its previous outlook.

Discount retailer Target Corp. said sales at stores open at least a year rose 8.2 per cent in March, sending its shares up 1.5 per cent, or 77 cents, to US$50.74.

But Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fell 1.2 per cent, or 60 cents, to US$48.90 after the world's largest retailer said it sees first-quarter earnings and sales around the low end of its prior forecast.

In other news, shares of Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drug maker, rose 0.2 per cent, or 4 cents, to US$26.90. The stock recovered early losses after the company agreed to suspend sales of its arthritis drug, Bextra, at the request of regulators.

In economic news, the number of Americans making new claims for jobless benefits fell to 334,000 in the week ended April 2 from an upwardly revised 353,000 in the previous week, the Labor Department said. Economists had forecast 332,000 claims.

Another report showed US wholesale inventories rose 0.6 per cent in February, near Wall Street forecasts, as sales slipped for the first time since April 2003.

- REUTERS