* Stocks jump on strong corporate earnings
* Nasdaq hits 2,000 level for first time since October
* Disney profit pulled lower by parks, networks
* Dow up 0.9 pct; S&P 500 up 1.2 pct; Nasdaq up 0.8 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Updates with Disney, DryShips results after the bell,
context on indexes' July gains and latest Nasdaq volume)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, July 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on
Thursday as solid corporate profit reports and a drop in the
number of Americans on jobless benefits gave investors reasons
to buy equities following the S&P 500's two days of losses.
The market's rally pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index
earlier in the session to its highest intraday level in almost
nine months, putting it less than 4 points away from the
psychologically important 1,000 level. The Nasdaq briefly rose
above 2,000 for the first time since October.
But shares lost ground at the close and finished off the
day's highs.
The stock market's advance was underpinned by strong
demand for the Treasury Department's auction of a record $28
billion of 7-year notes. Strong bids on U.S. debt diminish the
chance of a rise in borrowing costs.
The gains were broad-based, but a surge in commodity
prices gave an extra boost to raw materials shares. The
Reuters/Jefferies CRB index <.CRB>, a gauge of 19 commodities'
prices, rose 3.9 percent, its biggest daily percentage gain
since mid-March. The S&P materials index <.GSPM> jumped 3
percent.
Companies reporting better-than-expected results on
Thursday included MasterCard Inc <MA.N>, up 3 percent at
$194.11, and industrial conglomerate Tyco International Ltd
<TYC.N>, up 2.9 percent at $29.64.
Shares of Motorola Inc <MOT.N> shot up 9.4 percent to
$7.19 as the world's No. 3 cellphone maker behind Nokia and
Samsung cut costs and shipped more phones than expected, and
beat analysts' expectations. For details see []
"We are now in a market where the momentum is so strong
that people typically say (it) is overbought," said Steve
Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co in Greenwich,
Connecticut.
"In actuality, it's the type of strength that leads to
further gains, and pullbacks tend to be shallow."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> added 83.74
points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 9,154.46. The Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 11.60 points, or 1.19 percent, to
986.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> gained 16.54
points, or 0.84 percent, to 1,984.30.
The S&P 500 is up 45.9 percent from the 12-year closing
low of March 9, but it's still down 37.4 percent from its
record high close in October 2007.
DOW UP 8 PCT IN JULY
With just one day left in the month, the Dow is on track
for its best monthly percentage gain since October 2002, while
the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq probably will mark their fifth
straight month of gains.
At Thursday's close, the Dow was up 8.38 percent for the
month of July so far, while the S&P 500 was up 7.34 percent
and the Nasdaq was up 8.13 percent.
On the economic front, U.S. government data showed initial
claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose slightly
above market expectations in the week ended July 25.
However, the four-week moving average for new claims,
considered a better gauge of underlying trends as it smoothes
out volatility, fell to its lowest level since January.
Shares of Dow component Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> fell 2.75
percent to $25.50 in extended trade after the company posted a
drop in profit in line with Wall Street's expectations, but
revenue missed forecasts. [] Disney's stock had
gained 1.3 percent during the regular session to close at
$26.22 on the New York Stock Exchange.
DryShips Inc <DRYS.O> reported better-than-expected
quarterly earnings, helped by a recent rise in spot charter
rates and an increased contribution from its offshore drilling
segment, sending its shares up 5.7 percent to $7.10 after the
bell. In regular trading, the stock gained 2.9 percent to end
at $6.72 on Nasdaq.
GE JUMPS, GOOGLE GAINS
Goldman Sachs upgraded General Electric <GE.N> to "buy"
because they believe it is less likely that GE will have to
spin off its finance arm, GE Capital. []
GE's stock shot up 6.9 percent to $13.11 on the New York
Stock Exchange.
Among the Nasdaq's bellwethers, UBS initiated coverage of
Internet companies Google Inc <GOOG.O> and Amazon.com Inc
<AMZN.O> with "buy" ratings; shares of both companies rose
slightly over 2 percent. []
So far, 75 percent of the S&P 500 companies that have
reported quarterly results have beaten expectations, according
to Thomson Reuters data.
Volume was nearly average on the New York Stock Exchange,
where about 1.36 billion shares changed hands, not far below
last year's estimated daily average of 1.49 billion. But on
the Nasdaq, about 2.56 billion shares traded, exceeding last
year's daily average of 2.28 billion.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a ratio of
about 4 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about nine stocks rose for
every four that fell.
(Additional reporting by Angela Moon)
