American Express, 3M, Home Depot, and General Electric led the Dow’s ascent Thursday. Brands climbed on promising euro-zone news. Earlier today, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. Meanwhile, crude oil tacked on 42 cents to settle at $89.39 a barrel. In other news, the Labor Department said that initial jobless claims fell by 35,000 to 353,000 last week. Economists had anticipated a lesser decline to 380,000 new claims. On another note, the Commerce Department said that durable goods orders increased 1.6% in June for the second straight month. Economists had expected a 0.4% jump in June. Discounting transportation, durable goods orders slipped 1.1%. Elsewhere, the National Association of Realtors said that its pending home sales index slipped 1.4% to 99.3 in June from a downwardly revised 100.7 in May. Economists had estimated a 0.2% gain in June.
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