Stocks advanced on Wall Street yesterday in thin trading on a holiday-shortened session.

The Dow Jones industrials gained 112.78 points (1.08 per cent) to 10,560.67 and the Nasdaq rose 25.08 points (0.63 percent) to 3,991.19 at the close of trade.

The Standard and Poor's 500 index posted a gain of 14.63 points (1.01 per cent) to 1,469.23.

Markets closed at 1700 GMT ahead of the Independence Day holiday today.

There was little reaction to a report by the National Association of Purchasing Management that its manufacturing index declined from 53.2 in May to 51.8 in June or a government report showing a 0.1 per cent rise in construction spending.

Many traders were awaiting Friday's report on June unemployment, which should provide an idea of whether inflationary pressures are easing in the US labour market.

On the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond eased to 5.984 per cent from 6.018 per cent on Friday on the 30-year bond to 5.869 per cent from 5.881 per cent. Yields and prices move in opposite directions.