U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday, as Wall Street tracked Treasury yields while betting the U.S. economy would rebound from its first contraction in three years. In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department found gross domestic product (GDP) declined at a 1 percent annualized rate in the first quarter. Analysts had estimated a 0.4 percent contraction. Another report had initial jobless claims falling by 27,000 to 300,000 last week, compared to estimates of 326,000. Separate data had pending home sales up 0.4 percent in April, below expectations. In corporate news, Hillshire Brands rallied after Tyson Foods offered to acquire the meat producer for $50 a share. Shares of Costco Wholesale edged lower after the warehouse club operator reported third-quarter results beneath estimates. The dollar retreated against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners. Light sweet crude oil for July delivery gained 86 cents to $103.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures dropped $3 to $1,256.30 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 65.56, or 0.39 percent, to 16,698.74. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index added 10.25, or 0.54 percent, to 1,920.03. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed 22.87, or 0.54 percent, to 4,247.95.
