NEW YORK, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market ended broadly higher Thursday in fairly active trading, lifted by favorable earnings reports and a better-than-expected economic report.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average, which surged 188.42 points Wednesday, rose an additional 169.59 points, or 1.84 percent, to close at 9,410.45, nearing its pre-Sept. 11 level.
The key index closed at 9,605 points in the session prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which rose 56.07 points in the previous session, jumped 75.21, or 4.62 percent, to close at 1,701.47, beating its Sept. 10 level.
The broader New York Stock Exchange composite index was ahead 5.52 points to close at 565.79 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index was ahead 16.44 points to close at 1,097.43.
The American Stock Exchange composite index was ahead 0.71 point to close at 834.93 while the Wilshire Smallcap Index was ahead 14.23 points to close at 658.77.
The broad Wilshire 5000 gained 171.34 points to close at 10,109.04.
Volume was 1.65 billion on the Big Board and 2.49 billion on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Market breadth was positive, with advancers beating decliners by 19 to 12 on the NYSE and by 25 to 12 on the Nasdaq.
Analysts said stocks jumped from the opening bell as investors digested a better-than-expected report on first-time jobless claims and some reassuring earnings reports.
Before the market opened, the Labor Department reported new claims for state unemployment benefits during the week ended Oct. 7 fell by 67,000 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate 468,000.
Most economists on Wall Street were expecting first-time claims to decline by 23,000 during the week.
The Labor Department attributed the decline to a seasonal adjustment to account for a typical rise in claims at the start of a quarter. The government agency cautioned not to read too much into the decline because it followed a rise of 26,130 during the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department also reported that the price of goods imported into the United States rose 0.3 percent in September. The rise followed three consecutive monthly declines and was primarily attributable to a rise in petroleum prices.
Most economists on Wall Street were expecting the prices of goods imported into the country to fall 0.2 percent in August after falling 0.1 percent in July.
The government agency also said export prices edged up 0.1 percent in September -- the first increase since January.
Looking ahead on the economic front, investors are awaiting Friday's report from the Commerce Department on retail sales during September, which is widely expected to show a decline of 0.7 percent after rising 0.3 percent in August.
Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of all of the nation's economic activity, has been a main force keeping the struggling economy afloat.
But, economists are concerned that consumers might curtail their spending habits, which could push the economy into recession, amid concerns over the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Also on Friday, the Labor Department will issue the producer price index, a key measure of inflation at the wholesale level in September, which is expected to show no change after rising 0.4 percent in August.
On the earnings front, Dow component General Electric Co. reported its third-quarter net income rose 3 percent to $3.28 billion, or 33 cents a share, from $3.18 billion, or 32 cents a share, during the same period last year despite a previously announced Sept. 11-related insurance losses of $400 million, or 4 cents a share.
Without those insurance losses, GE said its earnings and earnings per share would have grown by 16 percent.
Analysts on Wall Street had expected GE to post a net income of 33 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
GE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt said the company remains confident of delivering double-digit earnings growth of $1.41 a share this year and double-digit growth next year as well.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury prices drifted lower. The 30-year bond fell 22/32 to yield 5.405, while the 10-year Treasury note dropped 19/32 to yield 4.67.
In Europe, stock prices ended slightly higher in moderate trading in London, Frankfurt and Paris as investors returned to a broad range of sectors on hopes that interest rates and other stimulus plans will spur economic growth in coming months.
The London International Stock Exchange's blue-chip FTSE-100 index gained 11.8 points to 5,164.9. The German DAX index rose 105.27 points to close at 4,718.46 and the French CAC-40 index rose 11.30 points to close at 4,330.68.
Earlier in Asia, prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange soared to a level not seen since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States shocked global financial markets, boosted as investors bought shares of recently battered chipmakers and automakers.
The blue-chip Nikkei Average of 225 selective issues, which lost 46.89 points Wednesday, jumped 382.13 points, or 3.80 percent, to 10,347.01. The key index ended at 10,292.95 on Sept. 11, the session before the terrorist attacks took place in New York and Washington.
The struggling banking sector's solid recovery in the afternoon, which came on a clearer picture of banks' earnings outlooks, helped boost overall market sentiment, traders said.
However, Tokyo players said they remain cautious about the ongoing U.S. military actions against terrorists in Afghanistan and its impact on the global economy. They added they will continue to monitor movements on Wall Street.
Elsewhere in Asia, stocks ended sharply higher in active trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index climbed 224.37 points, or 2.18 percent, to 10,522.61. The index is now trading 1.5 percent above the level seen before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Meanwhile, stocks also climbed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, lifted by strength in microchip issues. The Weighted Index surged 171.00 points, or 4.7 percent, to 3,789.93. The market was closed Wednesday for a holiday.
Stocks also ended higher on the South Korean Stock Exchange, lifted by strength in technology and telecom shares. The Kospi Composite Index gained 13.59 points, or 2.70 percent, to 517.05 despite news the central Bank of Korea decided to leave its target for the overnight call rate unchanged at 4.00 percent for October.
Elsewhere around the region, prices ended sharply higher on the Australian Stock Exchange, lifted by Wall Street's strong gains and an upbeat Rupert Murdoch at media conglomerate News Corp.'s annual general meeting in Adelaide. The blue-chip All Ordinaries jumped 59.40 points, or 1.93 percent, to 3,133.10.
Murdoch told shareholders he is still hopeful of securing a deal to acquire U.S. satellite television broadcaster DirecTV from General Motors. The media mogul also reassured shareholders that the outlook for the U.S. television advertising market isn't as bad as he first thought.
Gains were broadly spread with sectors such as resources outperforming as investors switched toward previously savaged stocks that are leveraged to world growth.
