Stocks climb, breaking out of a weeklong slump

NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks climbed Thursday on Wall Street, aiming for their first significant advance in more than a week, on the busiest day for quarterly corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 30 points at 13,108 as of 11:15 a.m. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up five points at 1,413 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 10 at 2,991.

The gains were broad. Eight of the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 index rose.

The Dow gained 127 points Oct. 16 but since then has managed only two daily gains, both of them meager. The average has lost 474 points since that last significant increase. Investors have focused on weaker corporate revenue and pessimistic projections.

Among companies reporting earnings Thursday, Procter & Gamble led the Dow Jones industrial average higher after the giant consumer products company reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations. P&G rose $2.55 to $70.63.

Online game maker Zynga jumped 26 cents to $2.39 after the company reported revenue that was stronger than analysts had anticipated. The company also said it would cut costs and enter the gambling business.

Health insurer Aetna rose 52 cents to $44.47 after reporting a 2 percent gain in third-quarter earnings. Higher revenue and lower-than-expected health care claims helped the company beat Wall Street's profit expectations.

Homebuilders fell broadly after the pace of growth in pending home sales slowed last month. PulteGroup, which returned to profitability in the third quarter, gave up an early gain and was trading down 55 cents at $16.90.

Profits at United Airlines declined with fewer people flying, and the company fell well short of Wall Street expectations. The stock fell 36 cents to $19.91.

Apple and Amazon.com report earnings after the market closes.

European and Asian markets were mixed. The price of crude oil edged down 3 cents to $85.70 per barrel in New York after a week of heavy selling.

As investors moved into stocks, they sold U.S. government bonds, sending yields higher. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note yielded 1.82 percent, up from 1.79 percent late Wednesday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-climb-breaking-weeklong-slump-135702811--business.html

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