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Stocks flirt with fresh 2009 highs

By Ben Rooney, staff reporterDecember 24, 2009: 11:03 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks rose Thursday, with the vital gauges breaking through key technical levels, after upbeat reports upon the work marketplace as well as permanent products orders fueled optimism about the mercantile recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial normal (INDU) was up 44 points, or 0.4%, about 1-1/2 hours in to the session. The S&P 500 index (SPX) rose 4 points, or 0.4%. Both gauges have been upon lane to tighten during fresh 14-month highs. The Nasdaq combination (COMP) gained 11 points, or 0.5%. The tech-heavy index sealed during the 15-month tall Wednesday.

The allege comes after the supervision pronounced the series of Americans filing first-time claims for stagnation fell more than approaching final week. A apart inform showed orders for permanent products outside of the travel zone surged final month.

"Today is about as quiet as it gets as well as we still have the S&P creation the brand new each year high," pronounced Art Hogan, arch marketplace analyst during Jefferies & Co. "This is the marketplace that's focusing upon what next year is starting to look like."

Stocks were additionally upheld by taking flight oil prices, that carried shares of appetite companies. Gold prices rose as the dollar softened opposite the euro.

"The clever commodity complex continues to be the motorist of the market," Hogan said.

Trading volume has been light this week, with many marketplace participants away upon vacation. Floor trading upon Thursday will end during 1 p.m. ET. The marketplace will sojourn dim Friday for the Christmas holiday.

Meanwhile, investors showed little reaction to the Senate's 60-39 opinion to pass the health care bill, that was widely approaching to be approved. The Senate additionally passed the $290 billion increase to the amount of debt the Treasury is available by law to have, raising the debt roof to $12.394 trillion from $12.104 trillion.

For the year, the vital indexes have been all upon lane to post double-digit percentage gains. The Dow has gained over 19% so distant this year, whilst the S&P 500 is up about 24% year to date. The Nasdaq has been the most appropriate performer of the year, rock climbing about 44%.

Stocks sealed slightly higher upon Wednesday, the fourth consecutive day of gains, despite the inform that pronounced brand new home sales posted their lowest levels given April. Market-movers enclosed tech shares as well as commodity prices.

Economy: A supervision inform showed the series of Americans filing first-time claims for stagnation insurance fell by 28,000 final week to 452,000 initial claims.

The tally was better than expected. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast the series of first-time filers to tumble to 470,000 from the prior week's 480,000 brand new claims.

Separately, the Commerce Department expelled the inform upon permanent products orders, display the gain of 0.2% in Nov that fell reduced of marketplace expectations.

Economists had projected that brand new orders for long-lasting manufactured products rose 0.4% in Nov after the decrease of 0.6% the prior month.

Excluding transportation, however, permanent products orders surged 2%, distant exceeding the 1% rise economists had expected.

Overall, the permanent products inform is the "good sign" for the economy, Hogan said. "The title series is impassioned flighty as well as when we take out the travel part, we have alleviation upon consecutive basis."

World markets: Asian markets posted gains for the day. Japan's Nikkei normal rose 1.5% to tighten during the top level given late September. European indexes were all more advanced in midday trading.

Bonds: The cost of the 10-year note fell, driving the yield up to 3.76%.

Money as well as oil: The dollar was churned opposite vital currencies. It was down versus the euro, but edged up opposite the yen as well as the UK pound.

Crude oil rose 75 cents to $77.42 the barrel. This is after clever gains upon Wednesday, upon the inform display that wanton reserve fell more than twice as much as analysts projected, for the second week in the row.

Gold for Feb smoothness rose $8.80 to $1,102.80 per ounce.

First Published: December 24, 2009: 9:49 AM ETOvernight avgs 30 yr bound mtg5.25%15 yr bound mtg4.66%30 yr bound jumbo mtg5.99%5/1 ARM4.28%5/1 jumbo ARM4.70%

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