Stocks rose Thursday as investors welcomed falling oil prices, a rising U.S. dollar, and a report that showed U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth was stronger than earlier reported. Stocks were volatile in the morning, in line with the tumultuous oil market, with stocks finally moving higher around midday as crude prices again fell. Light sweet crude oil for July delivery fell $4.41 to $126.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices fluctuated after the government reported a surprising drop in weekly crude-oil and gasoline supplies related to short-term delays in unloading Gulf coast tankers. Oil also declined in response to a stronger dollar, which makes dollar-traded commodities more expensive for international investors. The U.S. currency gained versus the euro and the yen. Meanwhile, the U.S. national average retail price of gasoline rose to a record above $3.95 a gallon (3.8 liters) from the previous day's record above $3.94. U.S. economic growth in the first quarter grew at a faster pace than initially reported, the government said. GDP rose at an annual rate of 0.9 percent compared to the initial reading of 0.6 percent. In a second report, the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose 4,000 to 372,000 last week. In company news, the majority of Bear Stearns shareholders endorsed J.P. Morgan Chase's proposed takeover of the brokerage, which nearly collapsed amid the subprime mortgage market crisis. Both stocks gained. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 52.19, or 0.4 percent, to 12,646.22. Gainers included financial companies Citigroup, Bank of America, and American Express. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.42, or 0.5 percent, to 1,398.26. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 21.62, or 0.9 percent, to 2,508.32. The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 7.53 to 9,371.87. The American Stock Exchange composite index fell 4.24 to 2,354.50. And the Russell 2000 index rose 7.09 to 7.45.55.
