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A boost in retail sales and the release of better than expected job figures sent the Dow above the 10,000 mark Thursday. A rise in all 30 Dow components saw the index make its largest single session percentage gain in over three months. 

In job news, new unemployment claims fell from 532,000 the previous week to the lowest level since January at 512,000 last week. Forecasts were for 522,000 claims.

Continuing claims dropped from 5.817 million to 5.749 million in the same period, which was slightly better than expected.

The Senate and House also voted to lengthen unemployment benefits by up to 20 weeks as well as extend the homebuyer tax credit.

In a separate report, worker productivity rose by 9.5% in the third quarter, well ahead of the 6.5% fall anticipated.

The Labor Department’s October unemployment report is due out Friday in the US, with the unemployment rate expected to rise from 9.8% to 9.9% in October. 

The Dow Jones gained 203.82 points, or 2.08%, to 10,005.96, the S&P 500 put on 20.13 points, or 1.92%, to 1,066.63 and the NASDAQ rallied 49.80 points, or 2.42%, to 2,105.32. 

Financials surged with JPMorgan the best of the major banks, adding 3.9%.

Bank of America advanced 2.9%, while American Express climbed 5%.

Costco put on 1% after revealing sales at stores open over a year rose more than expected.

Wal-Mart and Target advanced 1.8% and 0.9%.

Gap jumped 3.5% on the back of better than expected sales.

Tech heavyweights Microsoft, Apple and IBM rose between 1.3% and 1.8%.

Cisco added 2.8% before it reported falls in both quarterly earnings and revenue, however still topped estimates.

Hewlett-Packard and Oracle gained 2.3% and 2%. 

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing and machinery maker Caterpillar rose 3.5% and 3.2%.

NYMEX light crude oil for December delivery fell US62c to settle at US$79.78 a barrel.

Exxon Mobil and Chevron put on 1.7% and 1.3%.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose US$2 to settle at US$1,089.30 an ounce.

European Markets

Positive economic data out of the US sent European stocks higher. The European Central Bank and Bank of England announced that their interest rates would remain unchanged.

The BoE also said it would increase its asset-purchase programme by 25 billion pounds.

The UK benchmark FTSE 100 added 17.75, or 0.35% to 5,125.64. The French CAC40 put on 38.40 points, or 1.05% to 3,708.73, while the German DAX advanced 36.69, or 0.67% to 5,480.92.

BNP Paribas jumped 3.3% as the French bank beat quarterly earnings forecasts.

Standard Chartered and Société Generale advanced 1.5% and 0.7%.

Commerzbank dropped 4.7% after saying it expected to make a loss in both 2009 and 2010. German peer Deutsche Bank lost 1%.

Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays fell 3.8%, 3.5% and 1.4%. 

Retailers including Carrefour and Tesco rallied. They added 3.5% and 2.4% respectively.

ITV Plc surged 9.6% after the UK private television company forecast an increase in advertising sales in December.

Miners were mixed as metals prices weakened. Anglo American and Antofagasta added 0.8% each, while Xstrata dipped 0.2%.

BHP Billiton shed 0.3% as Aussie peer Rio Tinto put on 0.4%.

Vedanta slid 2.1% after reporting a significant decrease in first half profit. 

UK listed energy company Royal Dutch Shell gained 1.4%, while Total and BP rose 1.2% and 1%.

German software company Software AG climbed 8.2% after raising full-year forecasts.

Japanese Markets

Japan’s Nikkei lost ground as investors locked in profits ahead of the release of the US employment data. Exporters were among the biggest losers.

The Nikkei 225 shed 126.87, or 1.29% to 9,717.44.

Sanyo Electric slumped 20.4% after Panasonic bid for the company at a discount to its share price. Panasonic lost 1.9%.

Sony dipped 2.1%.

Automakers Honda and Toyota fell 2.6% and 0.8%. Nissan added 0.3%.

A cut to its profit forecasts sent Fuji Media 3.3% lower. The stock also received a broker downgrade.

Heavyweight financials Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group put on 1% and 1.1%.

Sumitomo Realty & Development lost 2.2% on concerns property developers may have to pay higher interest rates when they sell debt.

Chubu Electric Power shed 2.1% for the same reason.

Menswear store Aoyama Trading fell 2.6% after posting a loss.

Hong Kong Market

The Hang Seng continued its bumpy ride, with the market losing ground Thursday, this time led by the property stocks on concerns the government would seek to limit house prices. Losses were capped by positive sentiment flowing from the mainland as the Shanghai market closed at three-month highs.

The Hang Seng lost 135.69, or 0.63% to 21,479.08.

The banks were little moved, with Bank of Communications, Bank of China and ICBC all within 0.2% of the gain line.

HSBC lost 0.8%.

Property developer, Sung Hung Kai Properties shed 1.7%.

Swire Pacific lost 3.4%, while Media China slumped 7.3% after announcing a capital raising.

China Resources Cement Holdings rallied 2.1% after Morgan Stanley upgraded their outlook for the stock.

On IPO watch, the Chinese developer Evergrande Real Estate 34.3% on its first day of trading.

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