Stocks Rise Ahead of Non-farm Payrolls

Stocks closed fractionally higher on Thursday as traders turned their attention to tomorrow’s monthly employment report.

The Dow lost +20.20, the Nasdaq Composite +1.90, and the S&P 500 +1.78.

Shares of Research In Motion
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rose 5.9% after the company reported earnings per share more than doubled from a year ago.

Micron Technology
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gained 6.3%, despite reporting a worse than expected loss of $0.41 per share.

Constellation Brands
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swung to a fourth quarter loss, but the company beat estimates and raised its year end forecast. STZ shares closed 5.3% higher.

Schnitzer Steel
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reported much better than expected earnings and raised its outlook. SCHN rose 4.1%.

The commodities boom was back in focus today, with corn rising above $6 per bushel for the first time ever and rice also hitting a record high.

The dollar was little virtually unchanged ahead of non-farm payrolls.

Market Snapshot

Dow

+20.20 12626.03

NASDAQ

+1.90 2363.30

S&P 500

+1.78 1369.31

Economic
News

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ISM Services (Mar): Actual 49.6, Consensus 48.5