Investing.com -- U.S. stocks closed slightly higher on Thursday on a rare session devoid of volatility, as investors digested a wave of disappointing economic data on the final session before the release of February's domestic jobs report.
Equities hit session-lows after Markit said its Purchasing Managers' Index for the U.S. services sector fell 0.5 to 49.7 in final reading for February, the lowest level since the shutdown of the federal government in 2013. Within the report, non-manufacturing employment dropped 2.4% to 49.7, potentially suggesting lower than expected results in Friday's release. The Labor Department is expected to report that nonfarm payrolls rose by 190,000 last month, following an increase of 151,000 a month earlier. Analysts also forecast that the unemployment rate will remain unchanged at 4.9%, a month after tumbling to its lowest level in eight years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 44.58 or 0.26% to 16,943.90, while trading at its narrowest range all year as market players await the critical report. The NASDAQ Composite index inched up 4.00 or 0.09% to 4,707.42, while the S&P 500 Composite index added 6.95 or 0.35% to close at 1,993.40. For the session, eight of 10 sectors closed in the green, as stocks in the Energy, Consumer Goods and Financials sectors led. The Dow Jones Transportation Average surged 84.92 or 1.13% to 7,602.09, reaching its highest level in a year.
The top performer on the Dow was Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which jumped 2.37 or 3.42% to 71.75. The continuing rally in commodity prices has bolstered shares in Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), the world's largest construction and mining equipment company. Caterpillar shares have rebounded more than 22% since falling to 52-week lows in late-January. McDonald`s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) was the worst performer after losing 1.79 or 1.51% to 116.69. Nike (NYSE:NKE), meanwhile, lost 0.75 or 1.21% to 61.47. Nike, the world's largest athletic apparel company, is a major creditor of Sports Authority, which declared for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday while announcing the closure of 140 stores.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Viacom B Inc (NASDAQ:VIAB), which added 1.54 or 4.11% to 39.02. Viacom finished just ahead of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), which rallied 7.40 or 3.93% to 195.74. Tesla shares fell to one-week lows earlier this week following reports that the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy or ARPA-E has made tremendous strides with its next generation battery development. Tesla, which turned a profit in its battery division last quarter, faces a relative lack of competition in the industry. The worst performer was JD.Com Inc Adr (NASDAQ:JD), which fell 1.05 or 3.94% to 25.59. Shares in the Chinese e-commerce company are down slightly by approximately two points over the last year.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), which surged 0.90 or 26.32% to 4.30, following the tragic death of former CEO Aubrey McClendon. On Wednesday morning, McClendon passed away in a fiery one-car crash outside Oklahoma City. McClendon's death came one day after he was indicted for conspiring to rig bids for leases in the oil and natural gas industry. Chesapeake rallied for the second straight session after the company said it will likely not face prosecution or any fines related to the case. The worst performer was Kroger Company (NYSE:KR), which fell 2.98 or 7.33% to 37.67 after the supermarket giant reported worse than expected quarterly revenues and offered a weak forward sales outlook.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumber declining ones by a 2,306-722 margin.