Mid-Day Recap: Stocks Higher After Jobless Claims Data

The day’s data has been mixed but sentiment continues to run high on Wall Street after third-quarter earnings posted after the bell yesterday beat expectations. This morning, jobless claims moderated more than forecasts and wholesale trade data showed businesses were continuing to cut back on inventories at record rates.

As of 1:15, the NASDAQ leads the way with a 1.00% advance to 2,131. The S&P 500 is close behind with a 0.90% gain to 1,067, while the Dow is up 0.85% to 9,807.

Then at 8:30, weekly claims for unemployment benefits fell 33k to 521,000 in the week ending October 3, the lowest level since early January. The report easily beat forecasts for 540k new claims, and drove the 4-week average down to 540k, the lowest since mid-January.

The number of people continuing to receive benefits also fell to its lowest level since late March. There were 6.040 million claimants in the week ending September 26, a decrease of 72,000 from the prior week and the third straight decline overall.

Equities stuttered temporarily in the minutes following a 10:00 report from the Commerce Department. In August businesses cut back on inventories for the 12th straight month â€