Yum rises as S&P 500 returns gains Yum Brands stood out in a morning of muted US equity trading, with the restaurant operator rising on positive news about revenue from China. Shares in the company, which operates brands such as Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, gained 3.2 per cent to $70.24. A report from OTR Global that said sales in Yum's KFC China stores rose in the second half of May helped offset recent food safety concerns. During a four-week span beginning in late March, Yum shares dropped just over 10 per cent after being unable to shake worries about its poultry in China, which produces almost half of the company's revenue. The S&P 500 ticked up 0.3 per cent to 1,613.13, having inched back down toward the support level of 1,600 in recent sessions. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2 per cent to 3,407.59, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed, still below the 15,000 level at 14,970.69. Verizon Communications helped telecoms lead all sectors, with a gain of 1.3 per cent to $49.09. Sprint Nextel and Frontier Communications both rose 1 per cent to $7.27 and $4.09 respectively. The sector suffered a 7.7 per cent fall in the second half of May. Information technology was the worst performing sector, off 0.2 per cent. US technology group Oracle fell 2.4 per cent to $33.31 after analysts at Berenberg Bank downgraded the company from "buy" to "sell." In March, disappointing revenue and a cautious outlook sent shares tumbling. The company is now up 0.6 per cent on the year to date. Apple also traded lower, losing 1.3 per cent to $439.14, and is now down 17.6 per cent in 2013. US data remained in focus, as new weekly jobless claims came in at expectations, and helped set the scene for Friday's non-farm payroll numbers, which could prove to be a crucial report both for the future of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing programme and consequentially US equity markets. The upcoming employment report and in-line jobless claims helped to level the market after Thursday's sell off, said Quincy Krosby, market strategist for Prudential Financial. The data will have an impact on the market. Traders and investors are hesitant to make a commitment before the data," she said. What analysts are trying to determine is what the Fed is thinking. That really is why you have the nervousness in the market . . . The market has become hypersensitive to data related to employment. The relative calm meant major movers were driven by individual news. Sodastream rose 4.4 per cent to $72.42 on reports that the company was being targeted for acquisition by PepsiCo, which denied the news. PepsiCo shares were up 0.1 per cent to $81.25. In capital markets news, LightInTheBox shares rose 27.5 per cent to $12.11 in its first day of public trading. The e-commerce retailer is the first Chinese company to float this year, raising $78.9m on Thursday night. Big-box retailer Home Depot advanced 2.1 per cent to $76.71, continuing a strong 2013 that has been helped by an improving US housing market. The company's shares are up 24.1 year to date. Netflix suffered a 3.4 per cent fall to $215.94 after news broke that Amazon had signed a new licensing agreement with Viacom to stream television shows. Amazon dropped 0.6 per cent to $265.67.