US close: Markets clock gains after Wednesday's falls

Wall Street finished Thursday’s session much better than it did on Wednesday, as markets recovered from that day’s heavy, which saw the Dow drop more than 600 points and the Nasdaq enter into correction territory for the first time in two years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.63% at 24,984.55, the S&P 500 added 1.86% to 2,705.57, and the Nasdaq 100 rose 3.35% to 7,016.39.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones dropped 2.4% despite strong earnings from Boeing, while the Nasdaq Composite closed down more than 4% and the S&P 500 fell by 3%.

“I think we really need to see some expectation-beating earnings reports about now to remind investors why we got to these levels in the first place,” said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

“Unfortunately, third-quarter earnings growth is expected to soften a little after the first two seriously raised the bar.”

On the data front, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose a little more than expected last week, according to figures released by the Labor Department.

US initial jobless claims rose by 5,000 to 215,000, coming in a touch above expectations for a smaller rise to 214,000.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average was unchanged from the previous week's unrevised level of 211,750.

The four-week average is considered more reliable as it smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly figures, giving a more accurate picture of the health of the labour market.

Durable goods orders in the States jumped unexpectedly last month, buoyed by those for defence aircraft.

Total orders for goods made to last at least three years increased by 0.8% over the month to reach $262.1bn, according to the Department of Commerce, whereas economists had projected a drop of 1.0%.

Within the above, orders for military aircraft and parts more than doubled, soaring by 119.1% to $11.7bn.

Elsewhere, the Department of Commerce revealed that America's shortfall in its trade in goods with the rest of the world widened in September.

The deficit increased by 0.8% month-on-month to reach $76.0bn. Economists had forecast a deficit of -$74.9bn.

Compared to August, exports increased by 1.8% to reach $141.0bn while imports were up by 1.4% at $217.0bn.

Lastly, the Pending Home Sales Index increased 0.5% to 104.6 in September from the 104.1 seen in August, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Contract signings dropped 1% year-on-year, marking this the ninth consecutive month of annual decreases.

“Even though we are still seeing year-over-year declines, the latest monthly increase is a good, stabilizing trend,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR.

In corporate news, Twitter surged 15.47% after the company's third-quarter profit and revenue surpassed analysts' expectations, while Hershey shares were down 4.93% after the chocolate company's third-quarter numbers.

Merck was 0.82% lower despite revealing it had swung to a profit in the third quarter from a $56m loss the year before.

Comcast racked up 5.04% after it posted a jump in third-quarter profit, while Southwest Airlines slid 8.57% despite posting better-than-expected quarterly profits and revenues.

Dunkin' Brands rose 4.78% after lifting its profit outlook as it reported a rise in third-quarter profit.

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $108.30 5.84%
Visa Inc. (V) $140.52 4.66%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $44.31 4.46%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $45.47 3.18%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $264.18 3.09%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $115.63 2.93%
Boeing Co. (BA) $363.77 2.57%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $214.13 2.37%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $114.15 2.28%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $219.80 2.19%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $56.43 -1.72%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $175.31 -1.15%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $69.96 -0.82%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $126.42 -0.62%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $89.00 -0.51%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $46.51 -0.47%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $121.24 -0.26%
3M Co. (MMM) $184.99 0.24%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $52.93 0.47%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $138.47 0.73%

S&P 500 - Risers

Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $79.40 15.01%
International Paper Co. (IP) $43.77 10.28%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $8.99 9.90%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,782.17 7.09%
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $111.33 6.78%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $32.37 6.69%
Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM) $15.85 6.23%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $171.47 6.11%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $252.92 6.07%
PPG Industries Inc. (PPG) $103.71 6.06%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Equifax Inc. (EFX) $98.33 -14.76%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $35.34 -12.65%
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $49.90 -8.57%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $29.60 -6.80%
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) $269.98 -5.56%
Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW) $368.00 -5.13%
Hershey Foods Corp. (HSY) $102.84 -4.93%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $14.43 -4.25%
Molson Coors Brewing Co. Class B (TAP) $56.83 -4.23%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $336.94 -4.11%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $79.40 15.01%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $314.86 9.14%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $120.70 8.77%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,782.17 7.09%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $169.04 6.88%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $32.37 6.69%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $252.92 6.07%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $108.30 5.84%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $117.16 5.56%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $64.29 5.53%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $232.07 -20.20%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $336.94 -4.11%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $72.72 -2.66%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $298.47 -1.19%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $41.00 -0.77%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $91.77 -0.26%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $18.91 0.11%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $188.10 0.12%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $170.07 0.15%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $55.98 0.36%