Upbeat earnings, economic reports send stocks higher

Stock indexes climbed Thursday to their highest levels in more than two months as a mix of earnings and economic reports helped investors grow more confident that the bruised economy is starting to heal.

Tech stocks surged after Nokia reported better-than-expected first-quarter sales and maintained its forecast for the global mobile phone market. And JPMorgan Chase became the latest bank to report first-quarter earnings that were stronger than Wall Street had predicted.

The day’s economic numbers also fed investors’ optimism. Initial claims for unemployment benefits for a second straight week fell more than economists had estimated, while a snapshot of regional manufacturing from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia was more upbeat than expected. Home construction fell sharply last month, but analysts, seeing the glass half-full, said the decline could help the housing market work through a glut of homes.

Although investors don’t yet know how all of America’s biggest companies fared in the first three months of the year, there is a growing sense that the economy is starting to stabilize.

“Investors are saying Armageddon is off the table, the [Category] 5 hurricane has passed,” said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York. “They’re starting to price in the end of the recession.”

The Dow gained 95.81 points, or 1.2%, to 8,125.43, and broader stock indicators rose more sharply. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 13.24 points, or 1.6%, to 865.30, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 43.64 points, or 2.7%, to 1,670.44.

Four stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Dow is up 24% and the S&P; is up 28% after reaching 12-year lows March 9. But both remain down more than 40% from their record highs set in October 2007.

The tech-dominated Nasdaq has risen 32% since March 9 and is up 5.9% year to date.

After the closing bell Thursday, Google posted better-than-expected profit but its shares moved lower after an initial jump in after-hours trading.

Two marquee companies, Citigroup and General Electric, are due to report earnings early today.

In the financial sector Thursday, JPMorgan Chase rose 2.1% after releasing its results.

Some regional banks got a boost after Regions Financial said it expected to report a first-quarter profit, driving its shares up 34%. Fifth Third Bancorp rose 6.9%, while Huntington Bancshares jumped 8.2%.

Nokia’s earnings announcement helped indexes of computer and telecommunications stocks surge more than 3%. Nokia’s U.S.-traded shares shot up 11%.

Another bright spot came as traders bought up the newly public shares of Rosetta Stone, a maker of language learning software. The stock soared 39% in its first day of trading.

In other market highlights:

* Illinois Tool Works rose 6.4% after the manufacturer of industrial products posted better-than-expected quarterly results.

* Southwest Airlines sank 7.1% after reporting a bigger-than-expected loss in the first quarter as traffic fell in what the chief executive called the carrier’s toughest revenue environment ever.

Overseas, key stock indexes rose 0.1% in Japan, 2.1% in Britain, 1.3% in Germany and 1.8% in France.