U.S. stocks edged higher on Thursday in a rebound from recent losses while the euro hit a record low against the Swiss franc on renewed euro zone debt concerns, reported Reuters. U.S. oil prices declined along with gold, while bond prices advanced. Technology shares led gains on Wall Street, which has been pressured along with other risky assets by worries of a slowdown in economic growth. Comments from the president of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, raised doubts over a disbursement by the International Monetary fund of financial support to Greece in June and added to recent market jitters about debt problems in the euro zone. Disappointing U.S. economic data weighed on oil and stocks earlier in the day. The U.S. government kept its estimate of first-quarter economic growth unchanged at 1.8 percent after economists had forecast an upward revision from the initial estimate. A surprise rise in weekly jobless claims added to the latest batch of disappointing U.S. data. But stocks brushed aside those worries, turning higher in afternoon trading. "It speaks to the internal strength of the market that people think the internal momentum hasn't been broken yet," said Jim Awad, managing director at Zephyr Management in New York. Stocks have struggled in recent weeks to extend their latest rally that began in September. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index has gained 27 percent since the start of September. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 13.81 points, or 0.11 percent, at 12,408.47. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 5.84 points, or 0.44 percent, at 1,326.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 23.10 points, or 0.84 percent, at 2,784.48. The MSCI Latin American index rose 1.4 percent, adding to the week's gains, which have pulled it off an eight-month low reached on Monday. In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index ended down 0.07 percent. The euro was down for a fifth day against the Swiss franc. It fell as low as 1.22045 Swiss francs on electronic trading platform EBS and last traded down 0.5 percent on the day at 1.2242 francs. "There's so much uncertainty. It's going to be hard for the euro to move much higher," said Ronald Simpson, director of currency research at Action Economics in Tampa, Florida. "It continues to be sold on even modest upticks." Against the dollar, the euro changed hands at $1.4142, up 0.4 percent on the day, helped by a news report suggesting Asia is willing to help ease Europe's debt woes. The Financial Times quoted the head of the European Financial Stability Facility as saying China and other Asian investors were expected to buy a "strong proportion" of Portuguese bailout bonds when the euro zone's rescue fund starts auctioning them next month. The U.S. dollar was down 0.5 percent against a basket of major currencies. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were up 18/32 higher in price to yield 3.063 percent. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the July crude contract fell $1.09, or 1.08 percent, to settle at $100.23 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 12 cents to settle at $115.05 a barrel. Spot gold trimmed its decline to $1,521.20 an ounce, from the two-day low at $1,515.16 hit earlier. Tokyo's Nikkei closed 1.5 percent higher.
