On The Fly: Top stock stories for Thursday

Stocks began the session with modest gains, which set the tone for the day's trading action. For most of the day stocks were little changed as investors were overwhelmed with data both from earnings reports and economic releases. The day marked the heaviest day of the week for reporting and it continued after the close with several large tech companies posting their quarterly results. ECONOMIC NEWS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims rose 14,000 to 257,000 in the week ended April 22, from 243,000 last week. The trade deficit in goods widened slightly to $64.8B from a revised $63.9B. Durable goods orders rose 0.7% in March after a 2.3% increase in February. An index of pending home sales fell 0.8% to 111.4 in March following the 5.5% rebound to 112.3 in February, which was the highest since May 2006. Gas inventories showed a 74 billion cubic feet build versus consensus of a 73 billion cubic feet build. In Europe, the European Central Bank decided to keep interest rates unchanged. In Asia, the Bank of Japan raised its economic forecasts, but kept policy steady, as was widely expected. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Southwest Airlines (LUV) and American Airlines (AAL) slipped 2% and 5%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results. Southwest's earnings and guidance fell short of consensus estimates, while American reported better than expected results but also announced a pay increase for crewmembers. Later on, media reports indicated that rival United Continental (UAL) had reached a settlement deal with David Dao, the passenger who was recorded being dragged off a United flight earlier this month. According to CNBC, United said that it is "pleased" to have reached an amicable resolution with Dao... UPS (UPS) advanced 1.1% following better than expected results despite pressure on its bottom line from fuel prices and a larger share of business coming from home delivery. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was PayPal (PYPL), which gained over 6% after the company reported an earnings beat. Also higher was Under Armour (UAA), which rose 10% following a smaller than expected loss for the quarter. Additionally, Comcast (CMCSA) gained 2% after the telecommunications conglomerate reported first quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations as the company grew its video subscriptions and boosted sales in its film business. Among the noteworthy losers were Ford (F) and Dow Chemical (DOW), which fell a respective 1.1% and 1.8% despite announcing better than expected results for the quarter. Also lower was Synchronoss (SNCR), which plunged 46% after the company announced that its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are leaving and that's it outlook for the current quarter would miss previous expectations. INDEXES: The Dow rose 6.24, or 0.03%, to 20,981.33, the Nasdaq gained 23.71, or 0.39%, to 6,048.94, and the S&P 500 advanced 1.32, or 0.06%, to 2,388.77.