For the second day in a row, optimism on a fiscal cliff deal brought out a sunnier disposition in traders, and a modest run in tech also helped positivity run across all three indices.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) made waves in the media Thursday by announcing plans to bring the manufacturing of one of its Mac lines back to the U.S. next year, and AAPL shares finished up more than 1%.
Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) also rose to power the Dow and Nasdaq, while some positive news on unemployment from the Labor Department ahead of the monthly jobs report due Friday morning also helped things along.
The Nasdaq — following Wednesday’s off day — gained the most Thursday, moving up 0.52% to 2,989.27, while the S&P finished up 0.33% to 1,413.94 and the Dow gained 0.3% to 13,074.04.
Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) continued to ride the momentum from its announcement of new store openings, as Baird upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “neutral,” helping the stock improve nearly 6%. SBUX also announced an agreement with the British government to pay just more than $16 million in taxes in each of the next to years to quell outcry over “avoided” taxes in the past.
Good news also sent Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) upward more than 3%; the company announced it would not increase subscription fees despite its partnership with Disney (NYSE:DIS).
Yoga apparel maker Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) bounced better than 7% as third-quarter earnings topped expectations, though Q4 guidance fell short of forecasts.
Shares of Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) surged over 7% after the company said it had filed an application for a gaming license in Nevada, taking a step towards real-money gaming.
Three Up
- Metabolix (NASDAQ:MBLX): Up 45% (67 cents) to $2.16.
- Epoch Holding (NASDAQ:EPHC): Up 26.4% ($5.78) to $27.69.
- Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM): Up 10% ($3.56) to $39.06.
Three Down
- Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA): Down 11.7% ($3.07) to $23.14.
- Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CYCC): Down 14% ($1.06) to $6.53.
- Francesca’s Holdings (NASDAQ:FRAN): Down 8.7% ($2.34) to $24.66.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing he is long AAPL and INTC.
