Dow up after jobs, housing reports

NEW YORK - Stocks rose Thursday, extending their gains from the day before, after reports on housing, manufacturing, and jobs all indicated that the economy continues to grow.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50 points, having jumped 254 on Wednesday thanks to strong reports on manufacturing in the United States and China. Broader indexes also rose.

Trading was somewhat muted ahead of the government's closely watched monthly report on employment due out Friday.

"We're treading water," said Dan Genter, chief executive of RNC Genter Capital. Traders are waiting to see if Friday's jobs report "provides more of a rescue or a shark attack."

The monthly report is likely to provide further evidence that the jobs market remains weak. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predict the unemployment rate inched up to 9.6 percent last month from 9.5 percent in July as private employers hired just 41,000 workers last month.

With little broad conviction about the health of the economy, investors chose to target specific stocks after monthly retail sales reports and the latest acquisition activity.

Burger King Holdings Inc. and data-storage provider 3Par Inc. both rose after agreeing to be acquired. Limited Brands Inc., which operates Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, got a lift from strong August sales.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50.63, or 0.5 percent, to close at 10,320.10. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.81, or 0.9 percent, to 1,090.10, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 23.17, or 1.1 percent, to 2,200.01.

The Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, but remain well above levels that indicate a healthy economy. Claims dipped for the second straight week. They fell slightly below the level economists had forecast, which was somewhat encouraging ahead of Friday's monthly employment report.

About two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume was very low at 3.8 billion shares.

Bond prices dipped after the economic reports. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.63 percent from 2.58 percent late Wednesday. That yield helps set interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans.

Limited shares jumped $1.48, or 6.1 percent, to $25.75.

Shares of 3Par rose 80 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $32.88 after Hewlett-Packard Co. won a bidding war for the data-storage provider. Hewlett-Packard raised its bid to $33 per share after competitor Dell Inc. offered $32 per share.

Burger King jumped $4.73, or 25.1 percent, to $23.59. It is being taken private for $3.26 billion, or $24 per share.

Mariner Energy Inc. shares dropped after an oil rig it owns exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. The rig was not currently producing oil. Its shares fell 60 cents to $22.75.