US close: Stocks bounce back as bond yields steady, dollar jumps

Wall Street bounced back as US government bond yields steadied following the previous day's losses, with the rest of global capital markets playing catch-up.

The Dow Jones Industrials added 59.71 points to 19,852.24, the S&P 500 tacked on 8.75 points to close at 2,262.03 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 20.18 points to 5,456.85.

Nonetheless, all eyes were on the US dollar which bounded higher, sending the European single currency below a key level of technical support and to its lowest mark in over a decade, as traders moved to price-in a 'hand-off' from monetary policy to fiscal policy in the world's single largest economy.

From a sector standpoint, Airline stocks did best, with the group rising 2.01%, followed by Tires (1.67%) and Coal (1.57%).

Gold Mining stocks on the other hand got thrashed as the yellow metal continued its recent retreat, followed by shares in Clothing&Accesories (-2.63%) and Gambling (-2.38%).

The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note rose by three basis points to 2.60%, adding to the previous session's hefty gains, but that on the two-year note was little changed at 1.27%.

Meanwhile, February COMEX gold futures were down by $14.80 to $1,129.80/oz..

On the data front, the consumer price index edged up 0.2% on November as expected, from the 0.4% rise in the previous month.

In the 12 months to November the index increased 1.7%, also as anticipated, from 1.6% in October.

Initial jobless claims fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 254,000 in the week ended 10 December, slightly below the 256,000 expected, while continuing unemployment claims rose by 11,000 to 2.02m in the week ended 3 December.

Employers added 178,000 jobs in November, roughly in line with average monthly increase this year.

The current account balance dropped to $113bn in November from $118.3bn the previous month, and more than the $11.6bn forecast.

The Empire State manufacturing index jumped to a reading of nine in December, higher than the four expected and more than the 1.5 last month, while the Philadelphia Fed index soared to 21.5 in December from 7.9 in November and significantly more than the 9.1 forecast.

The NAHB housing market index rose to a nine-year high to 70 in December, from 63 the prior month, and beat expectations of 64.

In corporate news, Yahoo was weaker by 6.11% after the technology company said that more than one billion user accounts may have been affected by a 2013 hack.

Mondelez shares were up 4.39% following a report late on Wednesday that Kraft Heinz is planning to acquire the company.

However, there were also reports that the two are not currently in deal talks. Kraft Heinz shares were also 1.20% higher.

Dow Jones - Risers

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $74.89 1.60%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $86.00 1.50%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $243.00 1.28%
American Express Co. (AXP) $74.94 1.17%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $117.05 0.94%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $62.37 0.92%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $94.53 0.84%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.55 0.83%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $115.89 0.78%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.79 0.66%

Dow Jones - Fallers

United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $108.13 -1.04%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $51.29 -0.97%
General Electric Co. (GE) $31.26 -0.76%
Boeing Co. (BA) $153.77 -0.45%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $122.36 -0.39%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $71.08 -0.36%
3M Co. (MMM) $176.02 -0.33%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $168.02 -0.29%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.75 -0.21%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $62.58 -0.16%

S&P 500 - Risers

Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $108.57 6.91%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $60.18 6.08%
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $71.37 5.47%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $132.00 5.22%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $44.71 4.39%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $55.69 3.92%
Kroger Co. (KR) $35.96 3.57%
Prudential Fincl Inc. (PRU) $107.08 2.97%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $52.32 2.91%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $33.06 2.86%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $38.41 -6.11%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $93.94 -6.08%
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $96.93 -4.74%
Coach Inc. (COH) $36.36 -3.66%
Ryder System Inc. (R) $77.40 -3.29%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $31.22 -3.22%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $55.28 -3.05%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $74.31 -3.01%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $31.54 -2.95%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $82.88 -2.59%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $60.18 6.08%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $132.00 5.22%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $44.71 4.39%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $33.06 2.86%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $116.70 2.80%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $77.21 2.75%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $77.50 2.74%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $78.92 2.72%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $45.14 2.52%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $49.15 2.37%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $38.41 -6.11%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $25.77 -4.38%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $165.78 -2.38%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $58.46 -2.08%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $29.07 -1.96%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $213.33 -1.91%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $69.18 -1.90%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,501.20 -1.78%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $57.71 -1.77%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $24.68 -1.75%