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U.S. stocks leap amid mixed data, rebounding oil prices

Xinhua, February 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks jumped amid mixed data around midday Thursday, bringing the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite Index back to green territory for the year, as oil prices bounced back from Wednesday's plunge.

At noon, the Dow rose 162.31 points, or 0.92 percent, to 17,835. 33. The S&P 500 gained 17.06 points, or 0.84 percent, to 2,058.57. The Nasdaq increased 33.81 points, or 0.72 percent, to 4,750.51.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 278,000 in the week ending Jan. 31, an increase of 11, 000 from the previous week's revised level, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday. The initial claims for jobless benefits last week were lower than market expectations of 290,000.

However, the U.S. trade deficit for December widened sharply. The U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday the trade deficit jumped to 46.6 billion U.S. dollars, up 6.8 billion dollars from 39.8 billion in November. But analysts said the import number suggested that U.S. domestic demand was moderately healthy.

Oil prices' rally resumed Thursday, with U.S. crude surging more than 6 percent around midday, after China boosted liquidity by lowering the requirements for banks' reserve ratios of cash.

On corporate news, shares of Pfizer added 2.3 percent around midday Thursday, as the pharmaceutical giant agreed to buy Hospira, which makes injectable drugs and infusion technologies. Hospira shareholders will receive 90 dollars a share in cash, representing a premium of 39 percent to Wednesday's closing price. Endite