Encouraging job market news sends US stocks higher

New York (AP) — U.S. stocks moved higher in midday trading on Wednesday as investors welcomed some encouraging news about the job market. Seven of the 10 industry sectors in the Standard and Poor's 500 index rose. The buying follows a rise in overseas markets amid hopes of a breakthrough in Greece's protracted discussions with its creditors.

Keeping score: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 78 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,090 as of 12:10 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose four points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,114. The Nasdaq composite gained 24 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,101.

Job jolt: Payroll processor ADP reported that U.S. companies stepped up hiring in May. Businesses added 201,000 jobs last month, up from just 165,000 in the previous month, suggesting the economy is slowly recovering. On Friday, the government releases its much-anticipated jobs report for May.

Europe rising: France's CAC 40 was up 0.6 percent while Germany's DAX rose 0.8 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.3 percent. European government bond yields also moved broadly higher. The yield on Germany's 10-year bond rose to 0.89 percent from 0.72 percent the day before, a large move.

Greek hopes: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was heading to high-level meetings in Brussels to try to persuade creditors to accept a proposal that might unlock much-delayed bailout loans. Greece has to make a payment of over 300 million euros ($333 million) to the International Monetary Fund this Friday, then make a series of other payments in the coming months. The country faces the threat of bankruptcy and a possible exit from the euro if it fails to repay past loans and get new ones, a development that could roil the 19-country eurozone.

Analyst take: "The consensus is that they'll meet the June 5th payment, and I think they'll make the late June payment, but the concern is they'll struggle mightily to meet their July payment," said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. "The market is taking one payment at a time, but this continues to loom as a major point of concern."

ECB in focus: The European Central Bank raised its forecast for inflation this year to 0.3 percent from zero previously, another sign that the risk of crippling deflation — a long-term drop in prices —may be fading. ECB President Mario Draghi made the announcement at a news conference after the bank's governing council decided to hold its key interest rate at a record low of 0.05 percent.

Sales jump: Clothing maker G-III Apparel Group surged $5.83, or 9.7 percent, to $65.92 after reporting earnings and revenue that came in well ahead of what Wall Street analysts were looking for.

More exports: A big drag on U.S. economic growth eased in April. The U.S. trade deficit declined sharply as exports posted a modest gain and imports fell. A surge in the deficit in the first three months of the year cut U.S. economic growth by nearly 2 percentage points, sending gross domestic product into the red.

Asia's day: Japan's Nikkei 225 edged down 0.3 percent. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.7 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.7 percent while the Shanghai Composite was little changed.

Energy: Benchmark U.S. crude was down $1.07 at $60.19 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil, was down $1.27 to $64.22 a barrel in London.

Currencies: The euro rose to $1.1277. The dollar rose to 124.10 yen.

Bonds: U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 2.35 percent from 2.26 percent.

By Bernard Condon, AP Business Writer. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Gayly – June 3, 2015 @ 12:30pm.