* Tech shares lead Wall St's gains in late-day advance
* Thin volume keeps trading choppy
* Investors anticipate strong payrolls number Friday
* Dow up 0.1 pct, S&P 500 up 0.4 pct, Nasdaq up 1 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, June 3 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday,
led by a late-day surge in technology shares as investors
geared up for a strong unemployment report on Friday.
Stocks seesawed throughout the session, shifting between
optimism and pessimism on a variety of factors, including
technical resistance at the S&P 200-day moving average, the
euro's weakness, and supportive labor market data.
Technology shares, among the biggest beneficiaries of an
economic recovery, led the rally, with the Philadelphia
semiconductor index <.SOXX> up 1.2 percent. Microsoft Corp
<MSFT.O> rose 1.5 percent to $26.86 after Chief Executive
Steve Ballmer said the company will continue to prosper even
as the transition from PCs to other devices poses a "potential
tumult." For details, see []
"This is the high beta stuff, so when the market has a
decent tone to it, you'll see technology outperform on the
upside," said Bill Strazullo, chief market strategist at Bell
Curve Trading in Boston, referring to a stock's likelihood to
swing with the market.
"When we have a day where the data is good and people are
more optimistic about the idea that the recovery's intact and
businesses are going to spend on technology, that is the theme
that dominates."
Volume was light ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls
report, which is expected to show the economy added 513,000
jobs in May. Most of the gains are expected to be due to
temporary Census hiring, which has resulted in forecasts
ranging from 175,00 to 750,000 for tomorrow's figure,
according to a Reuters poll.
"It's just too big of a wild card," Strazullo said.
"You've got a very important number coming out tomorrow
with a very large range of possible outcomes and people just
don't want to go into that with any unnecessary exposure."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> edged up 5.74
points, or 0.06 percent, to end at 10,255.28. The Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 4.45 points, or 0.41 percent, to
1,102.83. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> rose 21.96
points, or 0.96 percent, to 2,303.03.
The S&P 500 bumped up against its 200-day moving average
and failed to break through -- the third time it has done so
in the last five sessions, according to Bespoke Investment
Group. A break through that 1,106.26 level would be a bullish
signal.
Lackluster same-store retail sales for May had earlier
pressured the market. Costco Wholesale Corp <COST.O> fell 1.7
percent to $57.93 after its sales missed estimates, while BJ's
Wholesale Club Inc <BJ.N> lost 2.6 percent to $38.77.
[]
The S&P retail index <.RLX> edged up 0.1 percent.
In a data-heavy morning, investors got a picture of the
job market ahead of Friday's more comprehensive report. Data
showed private employers added jobs in May and initial jobless
claims fell last week.
In other data, the services sector grew for a fifth
straight month in May, according to the Institute for Supply
Management, and the federal government reported that new
orders received by U.S. factories rose in April.
[]
(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jan Paschal)
