Wall Street Stocks go up after a 5-day Lull – CRUS, NOK, GMCR, CLWR, PPHM

Wall Street stocks experienced a slight rise on Thursday, which was the first gain of the week. This occurred right after unemployment claims in the United States dropped sharply to the lowest level in 2 months. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 72.46 (0.54%) at 13,485.97, the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 13.83 (0.96%) to 1,447.15, and the NASDAQ Composite(INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) was up 42.90 (1.39%) to 3,136.60.

Banks and energy stocks soared in early trading, but surprisingly, utility stocks declined, making it the sole industry group in the S&P to plummet. The decline continues from five trading days in a row. Japan stocks experienced a growth of 0.5% and in Hong Kong; they went up to 1.1%.

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Following Data from US was varied and mixed:

Long-lasting manufactured goods slumped in terms of demand in August mostly due to a decline in commercial aircraft orders.

From April to June, the economy went up by 1.3% annually, which is lower than the estimated 1.7%.

There was a drop in the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits. The numbers fell by 26,000 last week, coming to 359,000, which is a record low in nine weeks.

Fewer Americans are buying up occupied homes now as the demand has slackened in July after a two-year high. The National Association of Realtors' sales index remains at 10% higher than a year back.

Demand for government bonds dropped, which means investors are willing to take on challenges. The yield on the 10-year note, which moves opposite the price, rose 0.03 % point to 1.64 %.

Crude oil prices shot up to $1.19 per barrel to $91.15, whereas dollar remained flat against most currencies. Apple’s stock fared better and rose by 1.8% coming to $677.56 even after sales estimates of iPhone 5 were much lower than expected due to supply issues. The stock has a “buy” rating by Steven Milunovich, an analyst with a price target of $780.

Notable Movers:

Nokia Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:NOK) was up over 3% rebounding from the recent slump.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.(NASDAQ:GMCR) also added 5.30% after plunging 25% in the past one week.

Clearwire Corporation(NASDAQ:CLWR) was among the notable losers and slid 4.50%. Cirrus Logic, Inc.(NASDAQ:CRUS) soared 5.15%, after falling over 15% in the past one week.

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ:PPHM) was the biggest loser and slumped 33%. A problem with a drug trial related to lung cancer treatment has landed Peregrine Pharmaceuticals in trouble, leading it to default on a $30 million loan agreement.

The loan agreement, which it entered into on August 30, was tied to the success of the trial.

Will PPHM Rebound After The Recent Slump? Find Out Here

The company has been working on its experimental drug bavituximab which would have been used in the treatment of lung cancer. A study to assess the success of the trail midway showed that there were significant discrepancies between some patient sample test results and treatment code assignments.