* Spain sees strong demand in bond sale
* BP's ADRs rebound from recent plunge
* Jobless claims fall less than expected
* Dow up 2.8 pct, S&P up 3 pct, Nasdaq up 2.8 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close, changes byline)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks posted their
best day in the last nine on Thursday in response to signs of
health in the euro debt market and as investors snapped up
energy shares crushed in the previous day's sell-off.
The energy sector led a broad advance with all but four
stocks in the S&P 500 finishing the day higher.
The S&P energy sector <.GSPE> gained 4.9 percent. New
York-traded shares of BP plc <BP.N> jumped 12.3 percent to
$32.78 a day after posting a near 16 percent decline. Baker
Hughes Inc <BHI.N> shot up 10.6 percent to $42.42 after a
JPMorgan upgrade.
Spain sold 3.9 billion euros of a 3-year benchmark bond
seeing strong demand, a positive sign for investors worried
about appetite for debt from struggling European nations. The
euro rose 1.2 percent against the U.S. dollar, trading above
$1.21. [].
China confirmed exports jumped nearly 50 percent in May
from a year ago, reassuring investors worried about the impact
of the European crisis on global growth.
"The Spanish bond market auction went well and the
strength in Chinese export numbers was beneficial," said Brian
Lazorishak, portfolio manager at Chase Investment Counsel of
Charlottesville, Virginia.
"You had incrementally good news on many of the biggest
downside drivers of the market."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> jumped 273.28
points, or 2.76 percent, to 10,172.53. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 31.15 points, or 2.95 percent, to
1,086.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> gained 59.86
points, or 2.77 percent, to 2,218.71.
The S&P 500 posted a bullish technical alert as its daily
moving average convergence-divergence, or MACD, a widely
followed momentum indicator, generated a "buy" signal. The S&P
and the Dow closed above their 14-day moving average, another
short-term bullish sign.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
a ratio of about 7 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about 11 stocks
rose for every two that fell.
Further boosting energy shares, crude futures <CLc1>
settled up 1.5 percent, or $1.10, at $75.48 a barrel lifted by
the Chinese data and after the International Energy
Administration raised its estimate for growth in oil demand
in 2010. []
Housing stocks soared after U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid proposed an extension to a part of a homebuyer tax
credit. For details see [].
Radian Group <RDN.N> jumped 10.3 percent to $8.98 and
Lennar Corp <LEN.N> gained 8 percent to $15.58. the Morgan
Stanley housing index <.HGX> rose 4.7 percent.
On the downside, Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N> fell 2.2
percent to $133.77 and was the S&P 500's top percentage
decliner. A source familiar with the situation said the
Securities and Exchange Commission, which charged Goldman with
fraud in April, is investigating another mortgage-linked deal
once pitched by the Wall Street firm.
About 9.16 billion shares traded on the New York Stock
Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last
year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.
Before the opening bell, the U.S. government reported that
the number of new filings for unemployment benefits fell less
than expected last week, while the international trade deficit
widened slightly in April, pointing to a moderate economic
recovery. []
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)
