Stocks climb in early trading on Wall Street

STEVE ROTHWELL
FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013 file photo, traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York. European stocks edged higher on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014, recovering from a bad first day of the year, but Asian markets closed lower following declines on Wall Street. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in early trading Friday, recouping some of their losses after a weak start to 2014 the day before.

The stock market started the New Year with a thud on Thursday, declining on the year's first day of trading for the first time since 2008.

Trading has been quiet this week before and after the New Year's Day holiday on Wednesday.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose four points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,836 as of 10:21 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 52 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,493. The Nasdaq composite rose two points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,146.

BIG STORM: Trading was likely to be muted Friday after a winter storm hit the Northeast. The governors of New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency and urged people to avoid travelling.

SLOW EURO-GOING: The European Central Bank says that loans to companies slipped by 3.1 percent in November from a year earlier. Europe's economic recovery has been slow, and sluggish lending suggests that confidence remains poor. Still, Spain reported Friday that the number of people registered as unemployed fell by 107,570 in December, the biggest drop on record for the month and welcome news for an economy rattled by a two-year recession.

TREASURYS AND COMMODITIES: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 3 percent from 2.99 percent on Thursday. The price of oil dropped 22 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $95.21 a barrel.

NO JOY: Joy Global, a manufacturer of mining equipment, fell $1.44, or 3 percent, to $54.92, after analysts at Goldman Sachs recommended their clients sell the stock amid a weaker outlook for the mining industry.