Market Trades Higher: Is This New Buying?

Stocks are rising in early trading on signs that consumers are spending more than expected this holiday season. Retailers reported November revenue results that beat analyst expectations. Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said that its net sales rose 32 percent from the same time last year.

Retail spending figures overshadowed a Labor Department report that new jobless claims rose more than analysts were expecting. New unemployment claims rose to 436,000 in the week that ended Nov. 27. Analysts had expected a rise to 420,000. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 16, or 0.2 percent, to 1,207. The S&P 500 is up 1, or 0.1 percent, to 1,207. The Nasdaq composite index is up 4, or 0.2 percent, to 2,553.

Stock futures rose Thursday on encouraging retail revenue reports and hopes that Europe's financial crisis will be contained. Retailers reported strong November revenue results that beat analyst expectations, fueling hopes that consumer spending will rebound over the holiday season. Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch announced net sales last month of $318.9 million, a 32 percent increase from the same time last year. Costco Wholesale Corp. said that its November revenues rose 9 percent at stores open at least one year from 2009.

"The consumer is strong and month after month retailing has been very strong," said Ryan Detrick, the chief technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "If you take a step back it's clear that the U.S. economy continues to slowly expand." Investors are also hoping that European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet will announce that the bank will expand its efforts to support weak members of the 16-country euro zone. The bank said Thursday that it will keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low 1 percent.

Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 44, or 0.4 percent, to 11,278. S&P 500 futures were up 5, or 0.5 percent, to 1,209. Nasdaq 100 futures were up 14, or 0.7 percent, to 2,173. Expectations of a more aggressive move by the European Central Bank and signs that the job market is thawing in the U.S. helped send global stocks higher on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average and the broader Standard and Poor's 500 each rose by more than 2 percent.

The Labor Department announced Thursday that new unemployment claims rose more than expected to 436,000 for the week that ended November 27. Economists predicted initial jobless claims would rise by a seasonally adjusted 13,000 to 420,000. Jobless claims had fallen four of the past six weeks.

In corporate news Thursday, PepsiCo Inc. announced that will buy a majority stake in Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods for $3.8 billion. The acquisition makes the U.S. soft drink and snack maker the biggest food and beverage company in Russia.