Bankers encouraged by earnings forecast

NEW YORK (AP) — An encouraging earnings forecast from UPS and stronger manufacturing figures gave the stock market its sixth straight advance.

The gains Thursday were modest following a surprise increase in the number of newly laid off people seeking unemployment benefits.

Analysts said a slowdown in the market’s upward push was overdue. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 21 points after racing up nearly 104 on Wednesday. The Dow closed above 11,000 Monday for the first time in a year and a half. Other major stock indexes also stand at their highest levels since 2008.

The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index posted the biggest rise of major indexes ahead of earnings from Google Inc. The Internet search company reported after the closing bell that its first-quarter profit rose 37 percent but the stock fell 4 percent in electronic trading on concerns the company wasn’t holding down costs.

Nasdaq 100 index futures slipped 0.1 percent following Google’s report.

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