Investing.com - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday after Wall Street applauded a flurry of upbeat U.S. economic indicators, while buoyant revenue forecast from chipmaker Intel pushed up indices as well.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 rose 0.19%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.20%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.56%.
The S&P 500 VIX index, which measures the outlook for market volatility, was down 2.72% at 13.58.
Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region expanded at its fastest rate since December 1993 in November, fueling optimism over the U.S. economic outlook, official data showed on Thursday.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported earlier that its manufacturing index improved to 40.8 this month from 20.7 in October.
Analysts had expected the index to decline to 18.5 in September.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
The current new orders index, which reflects the demand for manufactured goods, increased 18 points, to 35.7.
The current employment index rose 10 points in November, to 22.4, and hit a 3½ year high.
Separately, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. consumer price index was unchanged in October, beating expectations for a 0.1% dip.
On a year-over-year basis consumer prices rose 1.7% last month, unchanged from September, and stronger than market calls for a 1.6% jump.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy components, rose by 0.2% during the month, pushing the annual rate up to 1.8%, both figures in line with market forecasts.
Also from the Labor Department, data released earlier revealed that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefit fell by 2,000 last week, to 291,000. Economists had expected a fall to 286,000, thought it was still the tenth straight week that initial claims remained below 300,000.
The number of continuing claims also fell, to 2.33 million, the lowest level since December 2000.
Meanwhile in corporate news, chipmaker Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) raised its dividend by $0.06 to $0.96 a share on an annual basis and provided 2015 revenue guidance that topped Wall Street expectations on forecasts for "growth in the mid-single digits," which also fueled Thursday's buying spree.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), up 4.66%, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), up 1.00%, and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), up 0.90%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), down 1.02%, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), down 0.79%, and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), down 0.59%.
European indices, meanwhile, ended the day largely lower.
After the close of European trade, the Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.67%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.75%, while Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.12%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 fell 0.26%.