Stocks Rose Modestly following Earnings News

U.S. stocks ended modestly higher on Thursday, following a mixed batch of corporate news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 61.78 points, or 0.37%, to 16,713.58. The S&P 500 was up 8.46 points, or 0.43%, to 1,955.18. The Nasdaq Composite rose 18.88 points, or 0.43%, to 4,453.00.

J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) on Thursday reported a narrower loss in its fiscal second quarter, and topped analysts’ expectations. It reported a loss of $172 million, or 56 cents per share, compared with a loss of $586 million, or $2.66 per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue rose 5 percent to $2.8 billion from $2.66 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, and beat Wall Street forecasts.

Plug Power (PLUG) said it turned a profit for the first time and reported better-than-expected second-quarter results. Plug Power reported a profit of $3.83 million, or 2 cents a share, in the quarter, versus a loss of $9.3 million, or 14 cents a share, a year ago.

U.S. auto loans jumped to the highest level in eight years this spring, fueled by a big increase in lending to risky borrowers, according to a report Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Nasdaq said on Thursday it is investigating issues with “stuck orders” and has identified the problem that is generating them.