Stocks recoup some of their losses from a slow start to New Year the day before

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Stocks rose in early trading Friday, recouping some of their losses after a weak start to 2014 the day before.

The stock market started the New Year with a thud on Thursday, declining on the year’s first day of trading for the first time since 2008.

Trading has been quiet this week before and after the New Year’s Day holiday on Wednesday.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose four points, or 0.3 per cent, to 1,836 as of 10:21 a.m. (1521 GMT). The Dow Jones industrial average gained 52 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 16,493. The Nasdaq composite rose two points, or 0.1 per cent, to 4,146.

BIG STORM: Trading was likely to be muted Friday after a winter storm hit the Northeast. The governors of New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency and urged people to avoid travelling.

SLOW EURO-GOING: The European Central Bank says that loans to companies slipped by 3.1 per cent in November from a year earlier. Europe’s economic recovery has been slow, and sluggish lending suggests that confidence remains poor. Still, Spain reported Friday that the number of people registered as unemployed fell by 107,570 in December, the biggest drop on record for the month and welcome news for an economy rattled by a two-year recession.

TREASURYS AND COMMODITIES: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 3 per cent from 2.99 per cent on Thursday. The price of oil dropped 22 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $95.21 a barrel.

NO JOY: Joy Global, a manufacturer of mining equipment, fell $1.44, or 3 per cent, to $54.92, after analysts at Goldman Sachs recommended their clients sell the stock amid a weaker outlook for the mining industry.