NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose Thursday as the price of oil climbed, boosting energy stocks. Among individual stocks, Salesforce.com and Best Buy were among the biggest gainers after reporting earnings that exceeded the forecasts of Wall Street analysts.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose five points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,131 as of 12:13 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 13 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 18,297. The Nasdaq composite was up 16 points, or 0.3 percent, at 5,087.
RATE RISE DELAY: Stocks have gained this month on speculation that Federal Reserve policy makers will refrain from raising interest rates until later this year at the earliest. The central bank has kept its benchmark rate close to zero for more than six years, boosting the value of stocks and bonds. Before a surprisingly weak first quarter for the economy, many investors were expecting rate increases by the middle of this year.
THE QUOTE: Although the S&P 500 index is at an all-time high, trading has been sluggish this week, a pattern that is likely to remain in place ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.
"The market has been trading in a tight range for the past few days, but the trend definitely remains positive," said Neil Massa, a senior trader at John Hancock Asset Management.
SALES GAIN: Salesforce.com was among the early gainers after reporting results that beat analysts' forecasts. The stock rose $3.76, or 5 percent, to $73.98. Best Buy was another stock that jumped after reporting strong earnings. The electronics retailer said sales of mobile phones, big televisions and major appliances helped sales, offsetting weakness in tablets and computers. Its stock jumped $1.77, or 5.3 percent, to $35.57.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.71 to $60.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and reports that U.S. storage levels are falling helped push up prices.
ON THE ECONOMY: More Americans sought unemployment aid last week, though the number of applications remains at a historically low level that is consistent with a healthy job market. Weekly applications increased 10,000 to 274,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile figure, fell to a 15-year low of 266,250.
CHINA, EUROPE DATA: Manufacturing in China shrank for the third month in May as demand remained soft, raising the chances of more stimulus to prop up growth in the world's No. 2 economy. HSBC's preliminary manufacturing index came in at 49.1, slightly better than April's 48.9 but still indicating a contraction.
In Europe, a similar survey showed employers were hiring at their fastest level in four years. The improvement came as the weaker euro was helping exporters get more business. Overall business activity, however, slowed down.
EUROPE'S DAY: France's CAC 40 rose 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX gained 0.1 percent and Britain's FTSE edged up 0.1 percent
ASIA SCOREBOARD: Japan's Nikkei 225 was barely changed while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.2 percent. South's Korea Kospi dropped 0.8 percent. China's Shanghai Composite jumped 1.9 percent as the weak data reinforced hopes for more government measures to boost the economy. The index has more than doubled over the past year.
BONDS AND CURRENCIES: Government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.21 percent from 2.25 percent on Wednesday. The dollar fell to 121.08 yen from 121.25 yen. The euro rose to $1.1128 from $1.1094.