Stocks jumped Thursday, as investors welcomed better-than-expected reports on U.S. manufacturing and consumer spending, one day after the Federal Reserve (Fed) suggested that the U.S. economic outlook seems to have stabilized. The Fed on Wednesday cut a key short-term interest rate by a quarter-percentage point, as expected. Wall Street's initial reaction was mixed, but after a slow start Thursday, stocks turned higher. In economic news, U.S. personal income increased a less-than-expected 0.3 percent in March, while personal spending rose a bigger-than-expected 0.4 percent, the Commerce Department reported. The report's inflation gauge rose a bigger-than-expected 0.2 percent. Weekly U.S. jobless claims rose ahead of Friday's April employment report, construction spending fell a bigger-than-expected 1.1 percent in March, and an index of manufacturing activity was steady in April, though it showed continuing contraction in the sector. Light sweet crude oil for June delivery fell 94 cents to $112.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But the U.S. average retail price for gasoline hit another record high above $3.62 a gallon (3.8 liters). Gold futures fell, and the U.S. dollar gained versus the euro and the yen. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 189.87, or 1.5 percent, to 13,010.00. Exxon Mobil reported sharply higher quarterly sales and profits on surging oil prices, but results missed forecasts, and the energy giant's stock fell more than 4 percent. Financial shares rallied, including Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, and Bank of America. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 23.75, or 1.7 percent, to 1,409.34. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 67.91, or 2.8 percent, to 2,480.71. JDS Uniphase reported fiscal third-quarter revenue that was short of estimates and warned that fourth-quarter profit would miss expectations, sending shares 17 percent lower in active trading. But other big technology stocks were more positive. Symantec gained 12 percent after the security-software maker report strong quarterly profits. Apple, Cisco Systems, Oracle, and Intel all gained. The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 95.44 to 9,395.04. The American Stock Exchange composite index was virtually unchanged, rising 0.66 to 2,296.13. And the Russell 2000 index rose 13.57 to 729.75.
