U.S. Stocks Advance; S&P Eyes Fifth Gain in a Row

   By Chris Dieterich 
 

NEW YORK--Stocks clung to gains in late-session trading after a better-than-forecast reading from the labor market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 29 points, or 0.2%, to 14706. The S&P 500 added seven points, or 0.5%, to 1586 in afternoon trading. A gain for the index would mark its fifth rise in a row. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 25 points, or 0.8%, to 3295.

The stock market gained even as the Chicago Board Options Exchange delayed trading for most of the session due to a technical glitch. Trading resumed just before 1:00 p.m. EDT. Shares of CBOE Holdings Inc. (CBOE) rose.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF), the largest North American iron-ore producer, reported a smaller-than-expected decline in first-quarter earnings.

3M Co. (MMM) slid after it reported quarterly results that lagged analysts' forecasts and trimmed its earnings forecast for the year.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) eased after reporting a quarterly profit that topped analysts' views but revenue that missed expectations.

Helping to boost enthusiasm for stocks was a report that Americans applying for jobless benefits fell to 339,000 last week, lower than expected, and the second-lowest level since January 2008, according to the Labor Department.

Investors also said rising expectations the European Central Bank might look to cut interest rates helped support stocks. Goldman Sachs said in a report that it expects the ECB to cut interest rates in May.

"The strength [in stocks] is part due to expectations about what we are seeing in terms of economic data, and hopes for a bit of ECB easing that is pushing things higher right now," said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management.

"The fact that we haven't seen a major rollover in sales and earnings is providing the fundamental supports, but there's been a change in sentiment that the ECB might follow in the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan and engage in more easing," he said.

European stocks advanced, with the Stoxx Europe 600 adding 0.8%. U.K. economic growth rose by a better-than-expected 0.3% in the first three months of the year, meaning Britain avoided slipping into its third recession in recent years.

Asian stocks ended mostly higher, led by a 1% gain in Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average added 0.6%. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.9%.

Crude-oil futures rose 2.4% to $93.64. Gold futures climbed 2.7% to settle at $1,461.80. The dollar rose against the euro but fell versus the yen.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM), which runs a network of servers and other equipment that speed delivery of web content, rallied after reporting first-quarter results that topped its forecast and gave an upbeat outlook.

Intuit Inc. (INTU), the maker of TurboTax do-it-yourself tax software and QuickBooks small-business accounting software, tumbled after reducing its forecasts for earnings and revenue.

Industrial landlord Prologis Inc. (PLD) slipped. Its offering of at least 31 million shares priced at a 2.5% discount to its Wednesday close. Prologis is seeking to raise money to repay debt and for potential acquisitions.

Shares of Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) dropped 6.5% after the social-games company swung to a profit but offered a weak forecast.

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