NEW YORK (voa) – U.S. stocks closed mixed Thursday, amid optimism corporate profits will rebound as the economy pulls out of recession this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up more than 12 points at 10,002, while the broad market indicator, the S&P 500, was down nearly 2 points at 1,116.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed lower nearly 16 points at 1,843.
Software developer Intuit Corporation and computer maker Hewlett-Packard both said quarterly earnings beat forecasts. Analysts say corporate earnings for the quarter, in general, have been better than expected.
In London, the Financial Times Index ended the day up nearly 55 points (more than 1 percent) at 5,209, while in Paris, the CAC 40 was up 65 points (1.5 percent) at 4,429. The DAX in Frankfurt was higher 38 points at 4,974.
New York gold closed at $299,70, up 30 cents from Wednesday.
The dollar was mostly lower against the other major currencies.
