NEW YORK-- Profile Facts--U.S. stocks soared Thursday as worries about Ireland's debt situation eased and General Motors made its long-awaited return to the Big Board.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 186 points, or 1.7%, to 11194 in afternoon trading. If that holds, it would mark the blue-chip index's first gain in three days. Alcoa led the Dow's gains, jumping 3.7%, while Boeing rose 2.9% and Caterpillar added 2.4%.
The Standard & Poor's 500-share index gained 1.8% to 1199. The materials, energy and industrials sectors led the index's gains as worries diminished about China and the scope of its inflation-cooling measures. The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.8% to 2521.
"The market's getting back what it lost over the last few days," said Steve Sosnick, equity risk manager at Timber Hill LLC/Interactive Brokers Group LLC. "Since the open, the moves have been pretty orderly. It's not a mystifying rally because there are plenty of positive factors today that explain it."
General Motors' shares, trading under the ticker symbol GM, were recently up 4.2% at $34.40 although they remained off their session highs. Traders said that Thursday's offering elicited an unusual flurry of excitement on the New York Stock Exchange. Still, questions remain regarding GM's long-term strategy.
"Celebrating an IPO doesn't mean the business model works," said Bob Froehlich, senior managing director at The Hartford. "It just means you have enough investors that are willing to give the business model a chance. But now GM still has to go out and execute their plan."
Developments abroad also contributed to the market's gains. Ireland's central-bank governor said negotiations with officials from the European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund will likely lead to Ireland receiving a loan on the order of "tens of billions" of euros from its European Union counterparts. The officials are in Dublin to examine the country's finances and banks.
"Ireland was the catalyst that really got things going," said Peter Tuz, president at Chase Investment Counsel. "The absence or the likelihood of the problem not getting any worse seems to have increased overnight."
Additionally, economic data helped fuel the market's gains. Initial unemployment claims rose a smaller-than-expected amount and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia registered its best gain in general business activity since last December.
Among stocks in focus, Sears Holdings skidded 4.5% after its fiscal third-quarter loss widened more than analysts expected, as margins fell and sales dropped, especially at the company's namesake stores.
Food company J.M. Smucker's fiscal second-quarter earnings climbed 6.9% on higher margins and topped analysts' expectations, but revenue was flat. Smucker also raised its target for the year by five cents. Its shares fell 1.5%.
Office-products retailer Staples's fiscal third-quarter profit increased 7.2%, as sales and margins showed modest improvement. Shares rose 2.7%.
In deal activity, Cardinal Health said it will buy privately held pharmaceutical distributor Kinray for $1.3 billion. Cardinal Health, the second-biggest drug distributor in the U.S. by market value, is looking to boost its presence in smaller pharmacies in the northeastern U.S. Its shares jumped 6.4%.
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