YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: A late squeeze gave stocks a strong finish after they had spent most of the session in a rather narrow range that was largely underscored by thin trading. Though there were several trading catalysts to drive action this session, the overall mood among participants was subdued ahead of the August nonfarm jobs report.

A near 5% spike by China's stock market helped stir a positive bias ahead of the U.S. open. However, another dismal dose of jobless claims disrupted the strong tone. Initial claims for the week ending Aug. 29 totaled 570,000, down just 4,000 from the previous week, but slightly more than the 564,000 that were expected. The week-over-week increase took the 4-week moving average up to 571,300, leaving economists with the impression that the weekly trend isn't headed lower any time soon.

With the labor market mired in weakness, continuing claims jumped to 6.23 million from 6.14 million. Economists, on average, expected continuing claims to remain steady since many unemployed workers are losing their benefits.

Still, stocks were able to start the session in higher ground, but they quickly came under pressure ahead of the August ISM Services Index, which topped the consensus estimate of 48.0 by coming in at 48.4, a high for the year.

Shortly after the ISM's release the major indices dipped into the red, but managed to rebound after holding above the previous session's lows. Financials were a primary source of support as they led gains for the entire session -- financials finished 2.3% higher amid strong buying in diversified banks (+2.7%) and multiline insurers (+3.5%).

Retailers like Gap (GPS 21.18, +1.49), Limited (LTD 15.53, +0.81), and Target (TGT 47.07, +0.80) posted this morning negative same-store sales results for August. However, their results weren't as bad as feared, so investors responded by sending the group 2.0% higher.

Materials stocks (+1.6%) fared well as gold and silver extended their recent run amid technical buying and short covering. Gold prices made their way to fresh six month highs and just $0.50 short of the $1,000 per ounce mark before pulling back a bit. Still, gold prices settled at $997.70 per ounce, up nearly 2%. That comes on the back of a 2.3% breakout in the previous session. Silver fared even better. Contract prices for the precious metal registered fresh 52-week highs of $16.31 per ounce and held steady into the close. Silver finished at $16.29 per ounce, up 6%.

Friday's attention will be focused on the August nonfarm payrolls report, which is due ahead of tomorrow's opening bell, since many economists believe that it is a telling sign of the economy's health.DJ30 +63.94 NASDAQ +16.13 NQ100 +0.7% R2K +1.2% SP400 +1.4% SP500 +8.49 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1781/1.87 bln/854 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2325/1.16 bln/688