Stocks Gain on ECB Stimulus

U.S. stocks ended Thursday’s choppy session with modest gains on news of European monetary stimulus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 38.82 points, or 0.21%, to 18,135.72. The S&P 500 was up 2.51 points, or 0.12%, to 2,101.04. The Nasdaq Composite gained 15.67 points, or 0.32%, to 4,982.81.

The European Central Bank on Thursday left official interest rates unchanged, as expected. The ECB’s main refinancing rate remains at 0.05%.

The Federal Reserve said all 31 big banks subjected to a stress test have sufficient capital to absorb losses during a sharp and prolonged economic downturn.

Statistics released Thursday by the U.S. Commerce Department show that factory orders were down once again in January, slipping 0.2 percent after bigger declines of 3.5 percent in December and 1.7 percent in November.

Gap Inc. (GPS) said Thursday that its February same-store sales fell 4%. That missed the average 1.3% gain analysts surveyed by Retail Metrics were looking for.