Interest rate movements called the shots on Wall Street for the second straight day.
The bond market recovered on Thursday, bringing stocks along with it, a day after panicky selling pushed long-term borrowing rates to their highest level in six months.
Stock indicators rose more than 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which gained almost 104 points.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a widely used benchmark for mortgages and other kinds of loans, moved decisively lower to 3.62 percent from 3.75 percent the day before as investors were relieved to see ample demand at an auction for Treasury debt.
The note’s yield had surged the day before, triggering a selloff in stocks, on concerns that a flood of U.S. government debt coming to market this year would overwhelm demand. In addition to raising borrowing costs for the government, higher yields on long-term Treasurys could threaten a recovery by driving up borrowing costs for consumers. The Federal Reserve has said it would buy large amounts of Treasurys and other kinds of debt in an effort to keep borrowing costs low.
Stock trading could remain jumpy going forward as investors look closely at interest rates as well as economic data for confirmation that the market’s aggressive bet this spring on an economic recovery is still sound. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is still up 34 percent from a 12-year low in early March.
"The market is absolutely being held hostage to the data," said David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s RiverSource Investments.
Joy pointed to the market’s immediate reaction after the Treasury auction Thursday of $26 billion in 7-year notes, part of the $101 billion in debt the government offered this week. "There was a real sigh of relief," he said.
The Dow rose 103.78, or 1.3 percent, to 8,403.80. The S&P 500 index rose 13.77, or 1.5 percent, to 906.83, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 20.71, or 1.2 percent, to 1,751.79.
The day’s gains returned the S&P 500 index to the black for the year after sliding on Wednesday. The Dow is down 4.3 percent in 2009, while the Nasdaq is up 11.1 percent.
The stock market logged its best month in nine years in April, but the advances heading into the final day of trading for May are far more modest. Still, a gain for May would mark the third straight month of rising stock prices.
Trading was choppy in the first half of the day on Thursday, following disappointing news on new home sales and foreclosures, while energy shares drew support from a jump in crude oil prices.
Light, sweet crude rose $1.63 to settle at $65.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a six-month high. Marathon Oil Corp. jumped $1.77, or 6.1 percent, to $31.01, and Devon Energy Corp. rose $2.02, or 3.4 percent, to $62.31.
New data on the housing market — a key area of concern for investors — wasn’t encouraging.
The government said sales of new homes edged up only 0.3 percent in April, less than analysts expected, and a separate report showed that a record 12 percent of mortgage holders were behind on payments or in foreclosure in the first quarter.
Homebuilder stocks fell after the poor housing data came out and on worries that mortgage rates could move higher. Toll Brothers Inc. fell 58 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $17.44, while Beazer Homes USA Inc. fell 18 cents, or 7 percent, to $2.39.
"We still have headwinds ahead, in terms of the housing market going down," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group.
Financial stocks also rose. JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose $1.99, or 5.7 percent, to $36.65, while PNC Financial Services Group Inc. rose $2.55, or 6.2 percent, to $43.66.
Investors were also focusing on General Motors Corp., which said a committee of bondholders agreed to a sweetened deal to erase some of GM’s unsecured debt in exchange for stock. The agreement may not prevent the automaker from seeking bankruptcy court protection, but investors are eager for any signs that a reorganization would be orderly. GM shares rose 15 cents, or 13 percent, to $1.30.
In other trading Thursday, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 2.35, or 0.5 percent, to 492.21.
About two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 5.6 billion shares, compared with 5.5 billion shares Wednesday.
The dollar was mixed against other major currencies. Gold prices rose.
Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.7 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 1.4 percent, and France’s CAC-40 slid 0.8 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average edged up 0.1 percent.
责任编辑：刘小蜗
