Investing.com - U.S. stocks were higher on Thursday, as investors eyed the release of additional U.S. economic reports after weak U.S. jobless claims data and amid sustained worries over the handling of the sovereign debt crisis in Spain.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.15%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite index advanced 0.27%.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 14 fell by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, disappointing expectations for a decline of 18,000 to 370,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 388,000 from 380,000.
Meanwhile, fears that Spain may be entering a recession persisted although the country’s Treasury raised slightly more than the full targeted amount of EUR2.5 billion at a bond auction earlier, while the yield on the country’s 10-year bonds remained below the 6% level.
Energy stocks were broadly lower, led by Exxon Mobil, down 0.38%, and followed by Chevron, with shares falling 0.31%.
ExxonMobil and Russia's Rosneft ROSN.M unveiled an offshore exploration partnership on Wednesday that could invest over USD500 billion in developing Russia's vast energy reserves in the Arctic and Black Sea.
On the upside, Gilead Sciences 15.34% surged after an experimental hepatitis C drug acquired by the biotech company produced encouraging results in a clinical trial.
Also on the biotech front, Human Genome Sciences skyrocketed 100.14% after it rejected an offer worth around USD2.6 billion from GlaxoSmithKline.
Meanwhile, Illumina Inc. edged down 0.07% after Roche Holding abandoned a USD6.7 billion bid for the U.S. company because investors were concerned over the viability of the firm’s gene-mapping technology.
In the financial sector, Bank of America saw shares rise 0.78% as first quarter earnings easily surpassed expectations, with profit at 31 cents a share against estimates of 12 cents. Morgan Stanley also beat estimates, sending shares up 3.34%, while Citigroup added 0.26%.
Elsewhere, Marriott International surged 4.94% after it reported a higher quarterly profit late on Wednesday as corporate business strengthened, and the hotelier raised its forecast for a key revenue metric.
Other stocks in focus included Microsoft, AMD and Capital One, among companies scheduled to report earnings after the closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.79%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.67%, Germany's DAX eased 0.06%, while Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.38%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased up 0.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 0.8%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on existing home sales and a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.15%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite index advanced 0.27%.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 14 fell by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, disappointing expectations for a decline of 18,000 to 370,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 388,000 from 380,000.
Meanwhile, fears that Spain may be entering a recession persisted although the country’s Treasury raised slightly more than the full targeted amount of EUR2.5 billion at a bond auction earlier, while the yield on the country’s 10-year bonds remained below the 6% level.
Energy stocks were broadly lower, led by Exxon Mobil, down 0.38%, and followed by Chevron, with shares falling 0.31%.
ExxonMobil and Russia's Rosneft ROSN.M unveiled an offshore exploration partnership on Wednesday that could invest over USD500 billion in developing Russia's vast energy reserves in the Arctic and Black Sea.
On the upside, Gilead Sciences 15.34% surged after an experimental hepatitis C drug acquired by the biotech company produced encouraging results in a clinical trial.
Also on the biotech front, Human Genome Sciences skyrocketed 100.14% after it rejected an offer worth around USD2.6 billion from GlaxoSmithKline.
Meanwhile, Illumina Inc. edged down 0.07% after Roche Holding abandoned a USD6.7 billion bid for the U.S. company because investors were concerned over the viability of the firm’s gene-mapping technology.
In the financial sector, Bank of America saw shares rise 0.78% as first quarter earnings easily surpassed expectations, with profit at 31 cents a share against estimates of 12 cents. Morgan Stanley also beat estimates, sending shares up 3.34%, while Citigroup added 0.26%.
Elsewhere, Marriott International surged 4.94% after it reported a higher quarterly profit late on Wednesday as corporate business strengthened, and the hotelier raised its forecast for a key revenue metric.
Other stocks in focus included Microsoft, AMD and Capital One, among companies scheduled to report earnings after the closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.79%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.67%, Germany's DAX eased 0.06%, while Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.38%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased up 0.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 0.8%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on existing home sales and a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.