The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 131.29 points, or 0.37 percent, to 35,443.82. The S&P 500 rose 12.86 points, or 0.28 percent, to 4,536.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 21.80 points, or 0.14 percent, to 15,331.18.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with energy up 2.53 percent, leading the gainers. Communication services slipped 0.7 percent, the worst-performing group.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower with seven 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 unemployment benefits fell to a fresh pandemic-era low last week.
U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, decreased by 14,000 to 340,000 in the week ending Aug. 28, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would total 345,000.
The numbers came one day after payroll data company Automatic Data Processing reported that private companies in the United States added 374,000 jobs in August, well short of market forecasts of a 600,000 gain, suggesting the COVID-19 Delta variant depressed hiring.
The more closely-watched monthly employment report by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics is slated for Friday, which will include employment data from both the private sector and the government.
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