Nasdaq leads broader market higher in 2Q's first session. Strong ISM index, Dow reshuffle factor.
April 1, 2004: 4:10 PM EST
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stock markets rose Thursday, the new quarter's first trading day, with gains in technology spilling over to the broader market.
According to preliminary reports, the Nasdaq composite (up 20.78 to 2015.00, Charts) added around 1 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 (up 5.96 to 1132.17, Charts) index added around 0.5 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average (up 15.63 to 10373.33, Charts) added 0.1 percent.
Stocks rallied Monday and Tuesday, and ended with small losses Wednesday. Wednesday also marked the last day of a tumultuous quarter. After starting with a rally and selling off at the end of the first quarter, the Dow lost about 0.9 percent, the Nasdaq lost 0.5 percent. However, the S&P 500 managed a gain, adding 1.3 percent in the first three months of the year.
But the second quarter started off on a positive note Thursday, with investors bidding up technology and other sectors.
The morning's stronger-than-forecast manufacturing sector survey and the enthusiasm surrounding the reshuffling of the Dow industrials' components added support. Anticipation about Friday's monthly payrolls tally played a role in the market action as well.
Due shortly before the open, the March unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 5.6 percent, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com. But employers are expected to have added 123,000 jobs to payrolls, according to the forecasts, after adding a surprisingly low 21,000 last month.
Here's what was impacting trade near the close.
Dow switcheroo, strong ISM
The session's biggest corporate news surrounded the reshuffling of the Dow industrials, which will take effect April 8. Three stocks will be removed from the Dow 30 -- AT&T (T: down $0.27 to $19.30, Research, Estimates), Eastman Kodak (EK: down $1.07 to $25.10, Research, Estimates) and International Paper (IP: down $0.08 to $42.18, Research, Estimates). The three new additions will be American International Group (AIG: up $1.97 to $73.32, Research, Estimates), Pfizer (PFE: up $0.54 to $35.59, Research, Estimates) and Verizon Communications (VZ: up $0.36 to $36.90, Research, Estimates). This is the first time the Dow has been reshuffled since November 1, 1999.
Unsurprisingly, the three future ex-Dow components declined, although their losses eased as the session wore on. Eastman Kodak was the weakest of the three, down close to 3 percent. The three future members of the 30 industrials climbed between 1 percent and 3 percent each.
Among other movers, shares of Ericsson (ERICY: up $2.11 to $29.87, Research, Estimates) rallied more 7 percent after the Swedish telecom said that profit margins in the first quarter would be higher than in the fourth quarter.
Investors also took comfort in the day's mostly upbeat economic news.
The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index for March rose to 62.5 in March from 61.4 the previous month. The index had been expected to decline to 59.5.
Released earlier in the session, the weekly jobless claims report showed that 342,000 people filed new claims for unemployment last week, down from an upwardly revised 345,00 the previous week, slightly above the expectations of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. The long-delayed February producer prices report was also released, showing that prices rose modestly in February, by less than what economists were expecting.
Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, where 1.2 billion shares traded, advancers led decliners by nearly seven to three. On the Nasdaq, gainers outnumbered losers by three to two as 1.4 billion shares changed hands.
Treasury prices fell, with the 10-year note losing 1/2 of a point in price, pushing its yield up to 3.89 percent from 3.83 percent late Wednesday. The dollar declined versus both the yen and euro.
Among commodities markets, NYMEX light sweet crude oil futures tumbled $1.49 to $34.27 a barrel. COMEX gold gained 50 cents to $428.80 an ounce.
In international trade, markets closed lower in Asia. Markets in Europe closed mostly higher.
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