Stocks Climb on Earnings, GE News

But a late round of profit-taking pared earlier gains for major indexes Thursday. The Nasdaq briefly cracked 2,000

U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday as better-than-expected earnings reports from Motorola (MOT), Goodyear (GT), Dow Chemical (DOW) and certain other companies rekindled investors' hopes for an economic recovery.

Also supporting sentiment was a surprise drop in the number of Americans continuing to collect jobless benefits. Dow industrials component word or phrase (GE) jumped 7% after a Goldman analyst upgraded the shares.

Indexes ended well below earlier highs as investors rook some profits late in the session.

The Nasdaq composite index climbed briefly above the 2,000 level before retreating. The index last closed above 2,000 on Oct. 1.

On Thursday, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average ended higher by 83.74 points, or 0.92%, at 9,154.46. The broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was up 11.60 points, or 1.19%, to 986.75. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 16.54 points, or 0.84%, to 1,984.30.

Treasuries rallied on a successful 7-year note auction. The dollar index fell after China said it would maintain a "moderately loose monetary policy." Gold and oil futures rose.

Some market players were hopeful for improvement in third-quarter GDP, says S&P MarketScope; S&P sees Friday's second-quarter GDP revision down 2.0%.

S&P chief technical analyst Mark Arbeter looks "for the major indices to pull back toward their breakout points before resuming back to new recovery highs."

In earnings news Thursday, Exxon Mobil (XOM) net profits sank 66% amid commodity price volatility and waning demand.

Aflac (AFL) posted $0.67 vs. $1.00 second-quarter EPS on flat total revenues. AFL said the benefit from a stronger yen/dollar exchange rate was offset higher by higher realized investment losses. Posts $1.20 vs. $1.01 Q2 operating EPS. Aflac also announced the planned acquisition of Continental American Insurance Co. for $100 million.

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