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10A – Daily News – Friday, July 9, 2010 Investors are getting enthu- siastic about stocks again after some reassuring news from the job market. Stocks rose for a third straight day Thursday on the Labor Department’s report of a larger than expected drop in the num- ber of newly laid-off peo- ple seeking unemploy- ment benefits. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 121 points after climbing 275 Wednesday and advancing modestly Tuesday. The 4.7 percent Stocks climb for 3rd day after jobless claims fall Wall Street NEW YORK (AP) — gain in that time is the Dow’s best three-day move since mid-May. Employment news has been the key driver behind the market’s moves during the past few weeks. Thursday’s news was a welcome change from a string of disappointing jobs reports, including the government’s June employment numbers, that have pounded stocks recently. The Labor Department said initial claims for job- less benefits dropped last week to their lowest levels since early May. Claims fell to 454,000, better than the 465,000 forecast by economists polled by Thomson Reuters. High unemployment has hurt consumer confi- dence, which in turn has slowed spending. And because consumers account for about 70 per- cent of U.S. economic activity, the recovery is unlikely to gain much momentum unless con- sumers are working and feeling more secure about spending. Retailers had mixed news about consumer spending. Several big retailers including those that cater to teenagers reported lackluster June sales. Others including department store opera- tors Macy’s Inc. and JCPenney Co., saw a pick- up in business. Overall, merchants said shoppers again spent cautiously, and analysts said stores were discounting heavily in order to bring cus- tomers in. Hank Smith, chief investment officer of equi- ty at Haverford Invest- ments, said some investors have been worried about a so-called ‘‘double-dip’’ in the economy but that more recent data, includ- ing Thursday’s jobs report, are a reminder that the recovery is continuing. ‘‘It’s hard to see rolling into a double dip,’’ he said. The market’s advance accelerated in the final hour. Many traders, seeing stocks hold their gains, wanted to be sure they didn’t miss out on the rally, so they began buy- ing before the closing bell. The Dow rose 120.71, or 1.2 percent, to 10,138.99. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 9.98, or 0.9 percent, to 1,070.25, while the Nas- daq composite index rose 15.93, or 0.7 percent, to 2,175.40. The Dow jumped back above 10,000 Wednesday. Traders say the recent gains, which came after seven straight days of declines, were not tied to any one particular cata- lyst. Instead some investors went back into the market thinking prices had been beaten down too much in the past couple of weeks. The yield on the 10- year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.04 percent from 2.99 percent late Wednes- day. The yield fell below 3 percent last week for the first time since April 2009 as investors grew nervous about the economy. The yield on 10-year Trea- surys helps determine the interest rate on some mortgages and other con- sumer loans. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 8.61, or 1.4 percent, to 620.27. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.8 percent, Ger- many’s DAX index rose 0.7 percent, and France’s CAC-40 gained 1.6 per- cent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average jumped 2.8 per- cent. AMERICAN SELF-STORAGE ★★ ★ 64 Mulberry Ave., Red Bluff • 527-1755 • Fully Fenced • Onsite Manager • Well Lit Property website: www.americanselfstorage.biz • RV & Vehicle parking now available LOWEST PRICE GUARANTEED! Call now for rates.