Stocks inch up; retailers and smaller companies climb

U.S. stocks inched up Thursday as smaller retailers and banks traded higher and energy companies rose with fuel prices. For the second day in a row, the market was unable to hang on to more substantial gains from earlier in the day.

Strong reports from companies including Bed Bath & Beyond and the parent of Victoria’s Secret helped retailers. Energy companies rose with the prices of oil and natural gas, and banks recovered some of the sharp losses they took a day earlier.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up as much as 98 points midsession. However, high-dividend stocks skidded and technology companies fell.

Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist for U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said that investors are feeling uncertain and may continue to feel that way for at least a few weeks. After a weak auto sales report Monday, he said, investors are wondering how fast the economy is growing and what that will mean for company earnings.

“We expect volatility to be higher than what we experienced in the first quarter,” he said.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up 4.54 points, or 0.2%, to 2,357.49. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 14.80 points, or 0.1%, to 20,662.95.

The Nasdaq composite advanced 14.47 points, or 0.2%, to 5,878.95. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks performed far better: It climbed 12.28 points, or 0.9%, to 1,364.43.

About three-fourths of the stocks on the New York Stock Exchange rose Thursday, but stocks are mostly down this week. The Russell 2000 has fallen 1.6%.

Investors will get an updated picture of the economy in the coming weeks. On Friday, the government will issue its March employment report. Next week the Commerce Department will give a report on retail sales, and companies including JPMorgan Chase, Delta Air Lines and Netflix will report their earnings.

L Brands, the parent of Victoria’s Secret, jumped 11% to $47.85 after it reported strong March sales. Bed Bath & Beyond climbed 3.4% to $39.08 after surpassing analysts’ earnings estimates. Department stores and mall-based retailers such as Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Gap rose. Discount retailers Fred’s and Five Below made hefty gains after Fred’s announced its own quarterly results.

Retail stocks have been hit hard for months as shoppers spend more money online and less in person, especially at stores based in malls.

Bond prices recovered from an early decline. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note stayed at 2.34%. Companies that pay big dividends, such as phone companies and utilities, traded lower. Investors often sell those stocks when bond yields rise, as they did earlier in the day.

Constellation Brands climbed 6.4% to $171.77 after the maker of wine, liquor and beer reported a larger profit and better sales than analysts expected. The company said its beer business, which includes Corona and Modelo, had a strong quarter, and it raised its profit forecast for the year.

Sunoco leaped 20.2% to $28.69 after it agreed to sell most of its convenience stores to 7-Eleven. Sunoco will get $3.3 billion and 7-Eleven will acquire 1,100 stores, mostly in the East Coast and Texas. Sunoco also struck a fuel supply deal with a 7-Eleven subsidiary and plans to sell 200 more convenience stores in a separate deal.

Consumer products giant Unilever said it will shake up its business after it rejected a $143-billion takeover effort from Kraft Heinz. It plans to sell its spreads business, which makes I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and Country Crock, combine its food and refreshment divisions, and return more than $5 billion to investors by buying back stock and raising its dividend. Its shares rose 44 cents to $49.55.

U.S. crude oil rose 55 cents, or 1.1%, to $51.70 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 53 cents, or 1%, to $54.89 a barrel.

Wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $1.73 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1 cent to $1.61 a gallon. Natural gas rose 7 cents, or 2%, to $3.33 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $4.80 to $1,253.30 an ounce. Silver rose 6 cents to $18.25 an ounce. Copper fell 2 cents to $2.66 a pound.

The dollar fell to 110.78 yen from 110.86 yen. The euro fell to $1.0646 from $1.0667.

France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.6% and the FTSE 100 index in Britain fell 0.4%. Germany’s DAX rose 0.1%. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 1.4%, and the Kospi of South Korea lost 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6%.

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UPDATES:

1:55 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comment.

This article was originally published at 8 a.m.