Stocks gain after weekly unemployment claims drop to five-year low

GM rises after earnings

5/2/2013

NEW YORK — Stocks are rising on Wall Street following encouraging news about the job market and higher profits from CBS, Facebook, and other companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 123 points to 14,824 as of noon today, an increase of 0.8 percent. It lost 138 points the day before, its worst drop in two weeks.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 15 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,597.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 40 points, or 1.2 percent, to 3,339 points.

CBS, General Motors, and Facebook rose after reporting income and revenue that were better than Wall Street analysts had been expecting.

The Labor Department reported that applications for unemployment benefits fell to a five-year low last week.