Stocks climb as data cast better light on jobs

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) – U.S. stocks gained on Thursday, with the S&P 500 breaking its longest-running stretch of losses this year, as a bigger-than anticipated drop in jobless claims mostly overrode concerns about a budget standoff on Capitol Hill. “We had good economic data in the jobless claims, but markets are responding nervously ahead of, and coincident to, the tough talk in Washington,” said Jim Russell, senior equity strategist for U.S. Bank Wealth Management. The Dow industrials (DJI JIA) climbed 55.04 points, or 0.4%, to 15,328.3. The S&P 500 index (SNC:SPX) added 5.9 points, or 0.4%, to 1,698.67. The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ:COMP) rose 26.33 points, or 0.7%, to 3,787.43.