Stocks Rise on Jobs Data, FedEx View

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks pushed higher Thursday as investor confidence in the economy got a lift from a surprise drop in jobless claims and a bullish outlook from FedEx(FDX).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 42 points, or 0.4%, to close at 11,499. The blue-chip index ranged between 11,421-11,514 for the session. The S&P 500 advanced 7 points, or 0.6%, to 1,243, while the Nasdaq Composite leapt 20 points, or 0.8%, to finish at 2637, its highest close since December 2007.

Hewlett Packard(HPQ), Alcoa(AA) and Bank of America(BAC) led the Dow higher, while McDonald's(MCD), JPMorgan Chase(JPM) and American Express(AXP) were the biggest losers among the blue chips.

Stocks rose across the board with capital goods, transportation and consumer cyclicals seeing the most momentum.

Volumes were light, however, as traders look to square off their positions ahead of the holidays. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1.01 billion shares changed hands, while the Nasdaq's volume totaled 1.75 billion. Breadth was positive on both exchanges with advancers outpacing decliners by a 2-to-1 ratio.

"I think you're going to see light volumes until sometime in January when there'll be some judgments regarding the economy and the changes in Washington with the new Congress," said Jay Suskind, senior vice president at Duncan Williams, adding that he expects to see sideways trading through the end of the year.

FedEx(FDX)missed second-quarter estimates with an adjusted profit of $1.16 per share on sales of $9.63 billion, compared with Wall Street forecasts for of $1.31 per share on sales of $9.7 billion. However, the global shipping and delivery company raised its year-end profit forecast to between $5 and $5.30 a share, from between $4.80 and $5.25 a share, previously. The stock rose 2% to $94.22.

FedEx's view contributed to the growing optimism that the U.S. economy's pace of recovery is starting to pick up. Thursday's economic data was also broadly positive, if somewhat mild, aiding sentiment.