Stocks Closed Mostly Higher ahead of Jobs Report

U.S. stocks closed mostly higher on Thursday, as investors looked ahead to the Friday jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18.42 points, or 0.10%, to 18,419.30. The S&P 500 fell 0.09 point, to 2170.86. The Nasdaq Composite rose 13.99 points, or 0.27%, to 5,227.21.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (HPE) is looking to sell its software business in a multibillion-dollar deal. Reuters reported that HPE was negotiating with private-equity firm Thoma Bravo LLC and seeking a price of $8 billion to $10 billion, after Thoma Bravo beat out other private-equity suitors.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (SWHC), the gun maker, topped Wall Street estimates for its quarterly results and outlook. The company reported adjusted fiscal first-quarter earnings of 62 cents a share on revenue of $207 million. Smith & Wesson expects adjusted earnings of 53 cents to 57 cents a share on revenue of $220 million to $230 million for the fiscal second quarter, and $2.38 to $2.48 on revenue of $900 million to $920 million for the year.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. LULU reported its second-quarter earnings rose to $53.6 million, 39 cents a share, from $47.7 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding certain items, Lululemon would have earned 38 cents a share. Revenue grew 14% to $514.5 million.