Investors were encouraged by a batch of earnings from a wide variety of companies heavily reliant on selling products to consumers, including Dow Chemical Co., Eastman Kodak Co. and Motorola Inc. The Dow Jones industrial average rose nearly 30 points in morning trading.
Pharmaceutical companies Bayer AG and Sanofi-Aventis SA and automaker Hyundai Motor Co. kicked off a strong day of earnings worldwide, sending stocks higher overseas before US markets opened.
Mixed earnings over the past few days sapped energy from an upswing on the stock market, which has been on a nearly unbroken rise since early September. Avon Products Inc. and 3M Co. both reported disappointing results Thursday, sending their shares down sharply.
A surprise drop in claims for unemployment insurance also lifted hopes about the economy and bolstered hopes that companies might start ramping up hiring soon. First-time claims fell by 21,000 to 434,000 last week, while economists had expected a rise. Claims had been hovering around 450,000 throughout much of the year, which is considered a signal that employers aren't firing many people, but not hiring many either.
The Dow rose 28.91, or 0.3 percent, to 11,155.80 in morning trading.
The Standard and amp; Poor's 500 index rose 4.15, or 0.4 percent, to 1,186.60, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.23, or 0.3 percent, to 2,509.49.
A falling dollar also provided the market some support.
Stocks and commodities have been very sensitive to the movement of the dollar in recent weeks. A decline in the dollar makes riskier assets priced in the currency, such as gold, oil and domestic stocks, more attractive to investors.
The euro rose back above $1.38 against the dollar Thursday. Gold rose $9.50 to $1,332.10 an ounce.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.68 percent from 2.72 percent late Wednesday.
