The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 25.35 points, or 0.07 percent, to 34,823.35. The S&P 500 rose 8.79 points, or 0.20 percent, to 4,367.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 52.64 points, or 0.36 percent, to 14,684.60.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with technology up 0.71 percent, outpacing the rest. Energy slipped 1.13 percent, the worst-performing group.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower with six of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.
The above market reactions came after data showed the number of Americans filing for first-time jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week.
U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, jumped 51,000 to 419,000 in the week ending July 17, following an upwardly revised level of 368,000 in the prior week, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting 350,000 filings for the latest week.
The four-week moving average was 385,250, an increase of 750 from the previous week's revised average, showed the report.
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