Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Thursday, after official data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose unexpectedly last week.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.92%, the S&P 500 index gained 0.99%, while the Nasdaq Composite index jumped 1.13%.
The Department of Labor said the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits last week rose by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 360,000, compared to expectations for a drop of 4,000 to 340,000.
Global stocks gained ground ealier after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed will continue to maintain accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future, citing low levels of inflation and the high unemployment rate.
The comments came after the minutes of the central bank’s June policy meeting showed that Fed policymakers remain divided over when to begin tapering its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
Around half of Fed policymakers believe the bank should start to scale back bond purchases by the end of the year, while many others believe the labor market still remains too weak.
Microsoft rallied 1.33% higher after the software giant announced a long-awaited restructuring, one part being the retirement of the president of its Microsoft Office division, Kurt DelBene.
Investors shrugged off earlier reports that personal-computer shipments dropped for a fifth straight quarter, marking the longest losing streak on record, as consumers continued to favor touch-screen tablets and smartphones for getting online.
Financial stocks added to gains, as U.S. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher. Shares in Bank of America jumped 1.12% and JP Morgan advanced 1.19%, while Citigroup climbed 1.11%.
Elsewhere, Nabors Industries was up 0.67% after the owner of the world's largest land-drilling rig fleet warned earlier in the week that its second-quarter operating profit would fall short of market expectations.
On the downside, Yum Brands slid 0.62% as the company reported, after the closing bell on Wednesday, a drop in June sales at restaurants in China, although the decline was not as steep as the month before.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.69%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.67%, Germany's DAX jumped 1.19%, while Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.50%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2.55%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.39%.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.92%, the S&P 500 index gained 0.99%, while the Nasdaq Composite index jumped 1.13%.
The Department of Labor said the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits last week rose by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 360,000, compared to expectations for a drop of 4,000 to 340,000.
Global stocks gained ground ealier after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed will continue to maintain accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future, citing low levels of inflation and the high unemployment rate.
The comments came after the minutes of the central bank’s June policy meeting showed that Fed policymakers remain divided over when to begin tapering its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
Around half of Fed policymakers believe the bank should start to scale back bond purchases by the end of the year, while many others believe the labor market still remains too weak.
Microsoft rallied 1.33% higher after the software giant announced a long-awaited restructuring, one part being the retirement of the president of its Microsoft Office division, Kurt DelBene.
Investors shrugged off earlier reports that personal-computer shipments dropped for a fifth straight quarter, marking the longest losing streak on record, as consumers continued to favor touch-screen tablets and smartphones for getting online.
Financial stocks added to gains, as U.S. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher. Shares in Bank of America jumped 1.12% and JP Morgan advanced 1.19%, while Citigroup climbed 1.11%.
Elsewhere, Nabors Industries was up 0.67% after the owner of the world's largest land-drilling rig fleet warned earlier in the week that its second-quarter operating profit would fall short of market expectations.
On the downside, Yum Brands slid 0.62% as the company reported, after the closing bell on Wednesday, a drop in June sales at restaurants in China, although the decline was not as steep as the month before.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.69%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.67%, Germany's DAX jumped 1.19%, while Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.50%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2.55%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.39%.