NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are broadly higher in afternoon trading Thursday following a three-day losing streak. Energy companies climbed after being beaten down over the past several days. Eight of the 10 sectors of the Standard and Poor's 500 index rose.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 141 points, or 0.8 percent, to 17,634 as of 2:16 p.m. Eastern time. The S&P 500 rose 13 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,060. The Nasdaq composite increased 36 points, or 0.7 percent, to 5,058.
RUMPLED: Men's Warehouse plunged $3.62, or 20 percent, to $14.77 after reporting earnings per share that was half what financial analysts expected, according to FactSet. The struggling clothes chain is down 68 percent since the start of 2015.
SUNBURN: First Solar dropped $6.23, or nearly 11 percent, to $52.62 after the solar energy company released earnings and a forecast that disappointed investors.
DATA WATCH: Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. rose last week, but the number of Americans seeking aid remains close to historic lows. The report comes a week before the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates for the first time in nine years. That would signal the central bank is confident the economy is strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs.
ANALYST VIEW: "There is a fear over the market. China is slowing, emerging markets are slowing," said James Dunigan, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management. "But if the Fed can say we're comfortable with U.S. employment and economic growth, that will be a positive."
ENERGY: The price of crude oil fell 39 cents, or 1 percent, to $36.77 a barrel in New York. Oil is trading at its lowest level since early 2009, dealing a huge blow to energy companies.
REVAMP: Glencore jumped 7 percent in London after the mining giant said it was ahead of schedule in cutting its debt. Miners are struggling with a slump in commodity prices due to slower growth in China.
EUROPE DOWN: Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.6 percent and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.1 percent. Germany's DAX rose 0.1 percent.
CENTRAL BANKS: New Zealand's central bank cut interest rates for the fourth time in six months, but it also signaled that it is not planning further cuts as inflation is expected to rise. Analysts said it was the latest sign that many central banks in developed countries are preparing to end their monetary easing.
ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 finished 1.3 percent lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.5 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.8 percent. China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.5 percent.
BONDS, CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.23 percent from 2.21 percent late Wednesday. The dollar rose to 121.62 yen from 121.19 yen. The euro fell to $1.0936 from $1.1028.
METALS: Precious and industrial metals futures closed mosetly lower. Gold edged down $4.50 to $1,072 an ounce, silver lost eight cents to $14.11 an ounce and copper was up less than a penny at $2.07 a pound.