US stocks have snapped a three-day losing streak, catalysed by stronger Chinese trade data and better sentiment on the European economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27.65 (0.18 per cent) on Thursday to close at 15,498.32.
The broad-based S&P 500 tacked on 6.57 (0.39 per cent) to 1,697.48, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite rose 15.12 (0.41 per cent) to 3,669.12.
Hugh Johnson, chief executive of Hugh Johnson Advisors, said the market was primed for a jump after notching three straight declines.
Chinese trade data for July showed exports increased 5.1 per cent year-on-year to $186.0 billion, while imports rose 10.9 per cent to $168.2 billion, revealing some ongoing strength in the Chinese economy.
Johnson also cited remarks from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi that the European economy appeared to be stabilising and fresh German trade data showing a pickup in exports.
These were “a catalyst for an oversold bounce,” Johnson said.
Dow component Microsoft rose 2.6 per cent after Evercore Partners upgraded the stock to “buy”.
Evercore cited a solid outlook for some key divisions and said very low expectations for PC-related revenues have been priced in, according to Barrons.com.
Electric car manufacturer Tesla soared 14.3 per cent after reporting a 20 cents per share profit, compared with an expected loss by analystsof 19 cents per share.
Online coupon company Groupon powered 21.6 per cent higher after announcing a $US300 million ($A334.97 million) share repurchase program, and naming cofounder Eric Lefkofsky as its next chief executive.
Miner Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold picked up 4.7 per cent after copper prices rose on the better Chinese data. Barrick Gold Corp. rose 10.0 per cent.
Dow component Caterpillar, whose sales of heavy equipment are also heavily leveraged on trends in the mining industry, gained 1.9 per cent on the better outlook for metals demand from China.
JPMorgan Chase, another Dow component, gave up 0.9 per cent after disclosing that it faces civil and criminal investigations over its sale of mortgage-backed securities.
Slumping retailer JC Penney shot up 6.7 per cent on reports the company is searching for a new chief executive in response to pressure from activist investor Bill Ackman.
Telecommunications company CenturyLink dropped 5.6 per cent after lowering its 2013 earnings forecast due to a bigger decline in some data services and slower growth in data hosting revenues.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury slipped to 2.59 per cent from 2.60 per cent, while the 30-year fell to 3.67 per cent from 3.69 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.