Stocks climb on Wall Street; Delta jumps

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 0.2 percent, to 1,835 as of 10:54 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 55 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,497. The Nasdaq composite was flat at 4,142.

BIG STORM: Trading was 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.

DELTA DECEMBER: Delta jumped $1.03, or 3.7 percent, to $28.73 after the airline said that a measure of its revenue for December rose 10 percent as it benefited from strong demand and the late Thanksgiving holiday.

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 $1.01, or 1 percent, to $94.44 a barrel.

SALES SLUMP: General Motors fell $1.24, or 2.6 percent, to $39.81 after the company said that its U.S. sales slumped more than 6 percent in December. GM says it sold more than 230,000 cars last month, down from nearly 246,000 a year ago.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Despite the slow start to the year, the economic backdrop remains positive for stocks, said Bill Barker, a senior portfolio analyst at Motley Fool Funds, which manages about $600 million in stock mutual funds.

"As long as there is no inflation, and a good economy, with low interest rates....that's the kind of thing that stocks love," said Barker.

NO JOY: Joy Global, a manufacturer of mining equipment, fell $1.49, or 2.7 percent, to $54.85, after analysts at Goldman Sachs recommended their clients sell the stock amid a weaker outlook for the mining industry.