For the day, the Dow ended higher by 80.71 points (0.6%) at 13,471.22. Nasdaq ended higher by 15.95 points (0.51%) at 3,121.76. S&P 500 ended higher by 11.1 points (0.8%) at 1,472.12.
Among the ten economic sectors, financial led gains and technology was the largest loser of its 10 major industry groups. Twenty-five out of thirty Dow components ended higher for the day led by Bank of America.
Upbeat comments coming from European Central Bank President Mario Drahgi at his monthly press conference, regarding the European Union's economic and financial prospects, put strong downside price pressure on the U.S. dollar and rallied the Euro currency on Thursday.
Late-day strength in the shares of Apple saw the stock rise by nearly $10, and pushed the tech sector higher. The notable bid followed comments from Apple's chief of marketing who said the company "is not interested" in making cheap, low-profit products. The largest tech company was in the news earlier this morning when reported Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook met with the chairman of China Mobile (to talk about "matters of cooperation." China Mobile, which has over 700 million subscribers, does not currently offer Apple products on its network.
European stock markets were supported and the Euro currency rallied following a successful Spanish bond auction that produced yields that were the lowest in almost a year. European traders were awaiting Thursday's monthly European Central Bank meeting. The ECB did not make any major moves on interest rates, as expected. The Bank of England left its monetary policy unchanged at its meeting on Thursday, as expected.
The U.S. dollar index was lower on Thursday. In the currency market, the dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, fell by 0.8%.
Latest data at Wall Street showed that in the U.S., jobless claims rose by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000 in the week ended 5 January 2012. Market had forecast a fall to 365,000.
China data showed a surge in exports of 14.1% for December, well above expectations of a 4.6% increase, while imports picked up 6%, up from zero growth seen the previous month. The solid improvement in shipments helped widen the trade surplus to $31.6 billion in December.
In earnings, DragonWave plunged 20% after missing on earnings. In addition, the company issued downside fourth quarter guidance.
Among names reacting to analyst comments, Microsoft was down 1.5% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to 'Equal-Weight' from 'Overweight.'
Retailers lagged the broader market. Elsewhere, Tiffany slumped 4.3% after the jewelry retailer said it expects its fourth quarter earnings to be near the low end of its prior guidance range.
Crude oil prices ended moderately higher on Thursday, 10 January 2013 at Nymex.
Prices ended higher following a weak dollar and better than expected Chinese data. On Thursday, light and sweet crude oil futures for light sweet crude for February delivery closed higher by $0.72 (0.8%) at $93.82/barrel. Prices touched a high of $94.7 during intra day trading.
Bullion metals at Comex finished higher on Thursday, 10 January 2013. Gold for February delivery rose $22.5 (1.4%) to settle at $1,678 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday. On Thursday, March silver rose $0.67, or 2.2% to settle at $30.92 an ounce.
For every stock falling nearly two gained on the New York Stock Exchange, where 727 million shares traded. Composite volume exceeded 4 billion.
Indian ADRs ended mostly higher on Thursday. In the Banking space, ICICI Bank was sown 0.1% and HDFC Bank was up 0.1%. In the IT space, Infosys was up 3% and Wipro was up 1%. In the Telecom space, MTNL was down 3.2% and Tata Communication was up 0.4%. In the other space, Sterlite was up 0.6%, Tata Motors was up 0.7%. Dr Reddys was up 0.2%.
For tomorrow, the export import price and trade balance data are the main economic reports expected for the day. Earning reports will continue to pour in.
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