* Apple shrs rise after beats expectations
* UPS falls after Q2 outlook misses expectations
* Housing, jobs data worse than expected
* Dow up 0.7 pct, S&P, Nasdaq both up 0.6 pct
(Updates to late afternoon, changes byline)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday
as a climb in bank shares helped offset disappointing economic
data and outlooks from economic bellwethers, including UPS.
Several large U.S. regional banks, including PNC Financial
Services Group Inc <PNC.N> and Fifth Third Bancorp <FITB.O>
posted better-than-expected quarterly results Thursday,
providing a glimmer of hope for a sector damaged by higher loan
losses in a recessionary economy. For more, see
[]
Solid results from companies like Apple Inc appeased
investors, helping to limit declines. [] The
iPhone and iPod maker was among the Nasdaq's biggest boosts, up
3.5 percent.
In contrast, United Parcel Service Inc <UPS.N> slid 2.7
percent to $53.29 after it said profits were hurt by the
economic downturn and forecast second-quarter results below
expectations. []
U.S. government data showed existing homes sales fell in
March to a much lower-than-expected annual rate, while weekly
initial jobless claims rose slightly more than
expected.[] []
Barring a surprise advance on Friday, Wall Street stocks
were on track to snap a streak of gains for six straight
weeks.
"We're still just getting a lot of mixed views on
everything," said Frank Lesh, a futures analyst and broker at
FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago.
"We've had a big rally in the market, so we don't know if
we're going to be able to extend it anymore. So far, we're just
consolidating at the upper end of this move here, but I think
we'll need to expect some kind of retracement out of this."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 51.85
points, or 0.66 percent, to 7,938.42. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index <.SPX> rose 5.42 points, or 0.64 percent, to 848.97. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <> added 0.61 points, or 0.04
percent, to 1,646.73.
Energy shares also gained as the price of crude rose 1.6
percent. lifting Chevron Corp <CVX.N> by 3 percent to $65.57 as
the top lift on the blue-chip index.
The broader S&P 500 is up nearly 25 percent from its
bear-market low on March 9. While some profit-taking was not
unexpected after the impressive rally, analysts said declines
could be countered by investors who missed the rally looking to
get back into the market.
But analysts said worries surround the banking sector on
fears that government "stress tests" on 19 major U.S. banks may
reveal weaknesses. The government is set to unveil the results
on May 4.
"It's still about the banks. We're all still wondering
about the stress tests," said FuturePath's Lesh. "That may keep
us range bound until we get some more clarity there."
Shares of PNC Financial rose 4.4 percent to $39.66, while
Fifth Third gained 2.4 percent to $3.78. The Holders Regional
Bank Sector ETF <RKH.P> was up 3.7 percent.
Technology and Internet giants Apple and eBay Inc <EBAY.O>
were the biggest lifts on the Nasdaq after both companies
topped Wall Street's expectations. Apple gained $4.25 to
$125.76, while eBay surged more than 13 percent to $16.85.
Cable services provider Comcast Corp <CMCSA.O> was down 3.2percent and led declines.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
