US Stocks

Major stock indexes staged their second straight gain Thursday as a doubling in LinkedIn's share price spurred hopes that initial public offerings can lure more investors into risk assets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished with a gain of 45.14 points, or 0.36%, at 12605.32, led by American Express, which added 76 cents, or 1.5%, to $51.82, and McDonald's, which gained 1.01, or 1.2%, to 82.51.

[Sign up for our Global Markets Newsletter]

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 2.92, or 0.22%, to 1343.60, boosted by the industrial and telecommunications sectors.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 8.31, or 0.30%, to 2823.31 for its third straight gain. Trading was relatively light, with about 3.3 billion shares changing hands in NYSE composite volume.

Investors said the sharp rise in professional networking site LinkedIn's stock on its first day of trading ignited hopes that successful IPOs can help drive more capital off the sidelines. LinkedIn's stock closed up 109% at $94.25, making it 2011's best-performing initial public offering, according to data from Standard & Poor's. The gains came in spite of a batch of weak economic data.

Stocks lost some of their footing mid-morning after the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's reading on mid-Atlantic manufacturing activity plunged. Meanwhile, sales of previously occupied homes in the U.S. fell slightly in April. The data washed out some of the favorable sentiment that followed better than expected unemployment claims figures early Thursday.

European Stocks

European stock markets ended higher Thursday as Air France-KLM and Investec PLC posted solid financial results, while the banking sector gained as investor risk appetite grew. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.7% to close at 280, helped initially by a strong end to Wall Street's trading session Wednesday.

European markets trimmed gains, however, as U.S. stocks faltered in Thursday's session. Air France-KLM rose 1.9% after the airline said improving economic conditions led to an uptick in traffic and helped offset rising fuel costs. The results lifted shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC, up 1.3% in Dublin, and International Consolidated Airlines Group, up 2.1% in London.

[Sign up for our Global Markets Newsletter]

Meanwhile, bank stocks gained across Europe. Societe Generale rose 0.6% in Paris and Barclays PLC rallied 2.5% in London. London's FTSE 100 index rose 0.5% to close at 5,955.99, with Investec PLC jumping 5.4% after the financial-services group reported a 22% jump in fiscal-year net profit. In energy, light-crude futures dipped below $100 a barrel after a string of disappointing U.S. data.

Oil producers held on to gains, however, with shares of BP PLC gaining 1.6% in London and Total SA rising 1.2% in Paris. The rise for Total, along with gains for banking stocks, helped push the French CAC 40 index to a 1.3% gain, ending at 4,027.74. In Germany, the DAX 30 index advanced 0.7% to close at 7,358.23. Siemens AG added 2.3% after being one of the hardest-hit stocks in the recent spate of profit-taking on German markets.

Asian Stocks

Asian shares ended mixed Thursday, with Japanese stocks falling on data showing the nation's economy contracted sharply in the January-March period. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.4% to 9620.82, South Korea's Kospi skidded 1.9% to 2095.51, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.5% to 2859.57, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.7% to 23,163.38.

Stock losses in Tokyo came after data showed the March 11 earthquake and tsunami resulted in gross domestic product contracting 0.9% in the January-March period from the preceding three months, or a 3.7% annualized decline. The fall marked the second consecutive quarter of contraction, taking Japan into what economists call a technical recession.

[Sign up for our Global Markets Newsletter]

Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. fell 2.1%,Advantest Corp. dropped 3.4% and JFE Holdings Inc. lost 1.6%. Japanese utilities declined after Prime Minister Naoto Kan Wednesday raised the possibility of splitting up electricity generation and distribution businesses. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which will release its fiscal year results Friday, tumbled 8%, Tohoku Electric Power Co. dropped 3.2% and Chubu Electric Power Co. gave up 5.1%. In Seoul, stocks dropped amid continued foreign selling, with Hyundai Motor Co. falling 2.1%, KB Financial Group Inc. losing 2.2% and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. dropping 3.8%.

Base Metals

Base metals closed mostly lower on the London Metal Exchange Thursday, following a day of currency-driven range trading that saw the metals fail to maintain the upward momentum of the previous session. LME three-month copper closed the open outcry session at $8,949 a metric ton, 1.3% below Wednesday's PM kerb close. While a return to the record prices seen earlier in the year may still be in sight for the red metal, upward progress is likely to be choppy and labored, market players said. LME lead was the only metal of the complex to finish the session in positive territory, trading up 1.1% at $2,472/ton at the PM kerb close.

Oil futures fell Thursday after a series of economic reports raised concerns about weakening crude demand. Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled down $1.66, or 1.7%, at $98.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange fell $1.02, or 0.9%, to $111.28 a barrel. Market watchers have been closely eyeing reports on the health of the U.S. economy ahead of the summer driving season, when gasoline use peaks. Disappointing readings sent Nymex crude tumbling below $100, a day after settling above the psychologically significant threshold for the first time in a week.

A stronger U.S. employment picture weighed on gold prices, with silver losing steam to end in negative territory as traders remain jittery after the metal's steep losses earlier this month. The most actively traded gold contract, for June delivery, ended down $3.40, or 0.2%, at $1,492.40 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The May-delivery contract was down $3.40 at $1,492.20 with one contract traded. The most active silver contract, for July delivery, slipped 16.5 cents, or 0.5%, to $34.932 a troy ounce. Thinly traded May-delivery silver was down 16.7 cents, or 0.5%, at $34.927 a troy ounce.

More from IBT Markets:
Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox daily
Follow us on Twitter.
Follow us on Facebook.