Wall Street closed higher overnight after a surprise profit from Alcoa and an unexpected drop in jobless claims.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 61 points to 9,787. The S&P500 Index rose 8 points to 1,065 and the NASDAQ added 14 points to 2,124.
In economic news: The latest jobs data showed that around 521,000 Americans filed new claims for unemployment last week. The number was the lowest in more than 9 months with around 554,000 claims the week before. Meanwhile continuing claims fell to just over 6 million.
In other economic news, wholesale inventories fell 1.3% in August versus a 1.6% fall the previous month.
In company news: Alcoa (NYSE:AA) shares rose 1.06% to $14.35. The Dow component posted its first profit in the third quarter after three consecutive quarterly losses. The result reflecting cost savings and higher aluminum prices.
Pepsico (NYSE:PEP) shares fell 1.28% to $60.39, after the world's second-largest soft drinks maker reported an increase in its third-quarter profit to $1.72 billion from $1.58 billion.
American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) shares added 8.88% to $18.14. The teen retailer said that September sales at stores open at least one year were flat. Total sales rose just 7% to $446 million.
Marriott International (NYSE:MAR) shares slipped 0.56% to $26.80. The hotel chain reported a $466 million third-quarter loss on a write-down in its timeshare segment and a drop in business and leisure travel. It earned $94 million in the third quarter last year.
Checking the NASDAQ Top 100: The best performer was NetApp, adding 4.27% to $27.57. Citrix Systems and Cerner were the next best performers. Broadcom lost the most ground, falling 4.68% to $28.54. While Ryanair and Ross Stores weren’t too far behind and also closed lower.
