[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market continued its recent string of daily swings today as the S&P 500 scored a gain of about 1% after starting the session near the neutral line. Despite its effort, the S&P 500 enters Friday only a few points above where it began the week.

Broad market stock futures traded in a relatively narrow range near the neutral line this morning. Market participants appeared cautious as Europe’s major bourses moved lower following another downgrade of Spain's debt the night before. Also at work was an increase in weekly initial jobless claims to 386,000 from 380,000 when a tally of 375,000 initial claims had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. However, sentiment seemed to strengthen on hopes that underwhelming data might compel the Fed to implement another round of quantitative easing when they meet next week.

While producer price data released yesterday was somewhat out of sync with what had been forecasted, consumer price data released today didn’t necessarily support the case against accommodative action by the Fed. Overall consumer prices declined during May by 0.3%, while core prices increased by 0.2%. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected, on average, a decline in overall prices of 0.2%, but an increase in core prices of 0.1%.

Current deficit data was given less attention. For the first quarter it totaled $137.3 billion, which is greater than the $130.9 billion deficit that had been broadly anticipated.

Although trade was generally lackluster in the early going, buyers began to step in with a bid. Strong gains held into the afternoon, but support started to wane shortly before the final hour. The drift lower was reversed when stocks spiked to session highs in response to reports that central banks are preparing for a coordinated effort, if necessary, after political elections are held in Greece this coming weekend. Trade turned whippy in the wake of that headline, but the broad market still booked a gain on the order of 1%.

Although the tone of trade would suggest that participants might be more willing to take on risk, defensive-oriented Telecom scored the strongest gain of any major sector. It settled nearly 2% higher for the day. However, mobile handset maker Nokia (NOK 2.35, -0.44) saw its shares slump to new multi-year lows in response to a pessimistic profitability forecast.

In other corporate news, Credit Suisse (CS 17.97, -1.87) shares were cut down to multi-year lows for concerns that the firm will move to raise new capital at the urging of officials.

Kroger (KR 22.58, +1.29) was one of few companies to report quarterly results this morning. The company posted an upside earnings surprise and issued strong guidance, helping its shares outperform in the latest round of action.

Energy stocks were also strong. The sector’s 1.7% gain came amid higher oil and natural gas prices. Crude oil scored a gain of about 1.6% by finishing pit trade at $83.85 per barrel amid a modestly weaker dollar and OPEC’s decision to keep its daily oil production ceiling unchanged at 30 million barrels. A bullish inventory report helped natural gas prices rally to $2.50 per MMBtu for a 14.7% gain.

Tech stocks lagged for virtually the entire session. The sector’s 0.3% gain was less than what any other sector managed today. Its relative weakness hampered the Nasdaq.

The dollar traded higher overnight, but pulled back early this morning. Still, it managed to limit its loss as the euro muddled along with only a narrow gain before bouncing at the end of the day. As of the closing bell the euro was up 0.5% against the greenback.

Advancing Sectors: Tech +0.3%, Materials +0.7%, Utilities +0.8%, Industrials +0.9%, Consumer Staples +1.3%, Financials +1.3%, Health Care +1.4%, Consumer Discretionary +1.4%, Energy +1.7%, Telecom +1.9%
Declining Sectors: None

Source: Briefing