Stocks Soar on Jobs and Cisco

U.S. stocks Thursday clocked their fourth day of massive moves, this time rising, after a drop in jobless claims and earnings from Cisco Systems Inc. swung investor sentiment higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 423.37 points, or 3.95%, to 11,143.31. The S&P 500 ended up 51.88 points, or 4.63%, to 1,172.64. The Nasdaq Composite gained 111.63 points, or 4.69%, to 2,492.68.

The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits fell below 400,000 last week for the first time since early April, as jobless claims continued on a slow downward trajectory. Initial claims dropped by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 395,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Cisco reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $1.2 billion, or 22 cents a share, on sales of $11.2 billion, compared with earnings of $1.9 billion, or 33 cents a share, on $10.8 billion in revenue in the same period a year ago.

Fewer Americans joined the unemployment line last week, and a technology bellwether said revenue could grow faster this quarter than analysts expected. The news is pushing down prices on long-term Treasurys down, and gold is down from its record high.

U.S. Treasuries sold off broadly Thursday as investors piled back into equities while also reacting to a disappointing auction for long-dated 30-year bonds. The price on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was down sharply, with its yield rising to 2.34% from 2.14% late Wednesday. Bond yields fall as prices rise.

Gold futures fell the most in seven weeks after CME Group Inc. (CME) boosted margins on Comex contracts, prompting investor sales after a three-day rally to a record topping $1,800 an ounce and as equities rebounded. Gold futures for December delivery declined $27.80, or 1.6 percent, to $1,756.50 at 11:35 a.m. on the Comex in New York.