* Pending home sales rise
* Initial jobless claims dip
* Same-store sales better than expected
* Indexes up: Dow 0.1 pct, S&P 0.5 pct, Nasdaq 0.7 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
(Adds factory orders, housing data, updates prices)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday,
building on their best day in eight weeks in the previous
session, as data showed pending home sales improved and initial
jobless claims declined.
The National Association of Realtors said pending sales of
previously owned homes rose unexpectedly in July, suggesting a
market decline was close to bottoming. For details, see
[ID:nN02124974]
Also, first-time claims for state unemployment benefits
dropped for a second straight week. [ID:nN02194957]
"(With) the home sales numbers, it's hard to overlook the
fact the year-over-year number was down 20 percent, but the
month-over-month number was better than expected," said Stephen
Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.
"Everyone is pretty down in the mouth, so it doesn't take much
to get people happy."
The PHLX Housing index <.HGX> climbed 2 percent.
New orders received by U.S. factories edged up in July
after two straight declining months on robust demand for new
transportation equipment. [ID:nN02208367]
The reports comes before Friday's key nonfarm payroll
report.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> added 13.78 points,
or 0.13 percent, to 10,283.25. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> gained 5.62 points, or 0.52 percent, to 1,085.91. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 14.27 points, or 0.66
percent, to 2,191.11.
U.S. retailers posted better-than-expected sales in August
as consumers sought bargains during the key back-to-school
season. [ID:nN02146293]
Costco Wholesale Corp <COST.O> gained 1 percent to $58.38
after the largest U.S. warehouse club operator reported
better-than-expected same-store sales. [ID:nSGE681069]
The Morgan Stanley Retail index <.MVR> rose 2.1 percent.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)