Leading indicators sagged but then moved into positive territory after comments by French and German leaders eased market concerns. The leaders said the euro zone needed a new operating method for the rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, and scheduled a series of meetings over the next few days to try to reach a consensus.  Investors are hoping European Union leaders will move toward a solution as early as this weekend, a crucial factor for stocks to break out of their trading range.  “It’s a Ping-Pong game — people have been burned by reacting to individual news stories only to have them refuted, withdrawn or contradicted,” said Stephen Massocca, managing director of Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.  “Next week we will get something more definitive but at this point, to react to these individual whispers and news stories has been a fool’s game,” Mr. Massocca said.  The Dow Jones industrial average gained 37.16 points, or 0.32 percent, to 11,541.78. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index gained 5.51 points, or 0.46 percent, to 1,215.39. The Nasdaq composite slipped 5.42 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,598.62.  The Treasury’s 10-year note fell 8/32, to 99 15/32. The yield rose to 2.19 percent, from 2.16 percent late Wednesday.  The S.& P. 500 has struggled after reaching the top end of a two-month trading range at the 1,230-1,250 level, and progress on Europe’s debt woes is critical to breaking out of that range.  Investors are also closely watching the developing earnings season. According to Thomson Reuters data, of the 109 companies in the S.& P. 500 that have reported earnings, 70 percent have topped analyst expectations.  “The focus is starting to be more domestic. Here and there are some questions about the directions of earnings,” said Mr. Massocca.  Ingersoll Rand posted lower quarterly earnings, and its fourth-quarter profit forecast fell short of some Wall Street estimates, because of depressed housing and consumer markets.  Polycom, the videoconferencing company, plunged 25 percent to $16.33 and weighed on the Nasdaq after quarterly revenue fell well below market expectations. The company said its sales to large companies slowed, and it forecast weak fourth-quarter revenue.  On the economic data front, factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region rebounded in October and the number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits fell last week, but other data showed a drop in sales of previously owned homes last month and only a small rise in a gauge of future growth.  “The numbers we have seen today provide some hints that the domestic economy is doing a little bit better, even with the challenges that are unfolding in Europe,” said Michael Strauss, chief economist at Commonfund in Wilton, Conn.  Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 6,000, to 403,000, last week, the Labor Department said. A four-week average, which smoothes out weekly volatility to give a better view of trends, hit its lowest level since April.  Initial claims dropped 25,000 between the September and October survey periods, suggesting a step-up in nonfarm employment after payrolls increased 103,000 last month.  After spiking in mid-September, jobless claims appear to have settled near the 400,000 mark that is usually associated with some improvement in the jobs market.  Separately, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank’s business activity index rebounded to 8.7 in October, the highest reading in six months, from minus 17.5 in September.  A reading above zero indicates factory activity is expanding in the region, which covers eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.  Sales of existing homes dropped 3 percent to an annual rate of 4.91 million units in September, the National Association of Realtors said.  In another report, the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators edged up 0.2 percent in September, pointing to continued sluggish growth. Still, it warned that the economy faced a 50 percent chance of recession whereas a month ago it said recession risks were lower than that.  The recent stream of data, including figures on retail sales and trade, suggests that output sped up in the third quarter.  Analysts estimate that gross domestic product grew at an annual pace of 2.3 percent to 2.7 percent, a sharp step up from the second quarter’s tepid 1.3 percent rate.
Investors were looking for direction from corporate earnings as European leaders sought to reassure markets that a solution to the debt crisis would come soon.