(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) US shares were advancing at the open as investor sentiment was given a boost by the latest jobs stats across the pond.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits declined last week more than expected.
Claims dropped to a new three week low in the period to end March official data showed.
Indeed it was a day for economic data and another report showed retail sales also unexpectedly declined though this of course is less good news for the US economy.
The benchmark Dow Jones added 163 points to 17798 while the Nasdaq gained 20 to stand at 4870.
The broader-based S&P500 added 16 points to stand at 2056.
The advance comes after receent weakness in US markets triggered by Fed rate rise fears.
Computer chip giant Intel Corp was a notablle corporate story - as it cut its revenue forecast for the first quarter.
The group which provides chips for PCs and servers said it expects Q1 revenue to be US$12.8bn versus of $13.7bn previously.
At the time of writing shares were down 3.22% to US$31.3.
Reports are also swirling today on photo-messaging app Snapchat with the Chinese e- commerce group Alibaba backing the firm to the tune of a whopping £140mln in an investment deal which would value Snapchat at £10bn.
Snapchat allows users to rapidly send photos to to other devices which then disappear into the ether - a kind of live visual conversation.
Commentary has suggested that Alibaba may be interested in Snapchat's use as a payment service.
Meanwhile in London FTSE100 was ahead almost 60 points at 6777.
Britain's blue chips gained over 1% at the mid-day point to stand at 6789 with building maerials group CRH () leading the way up 3.21% to 1798p.
After an up and down session on Wednesday UK shares appeared to be on a more stable track.
On the winning front was also oil behemoth Shell (LON:RSDB) up 1.72% to 2066p as Brent crude prices recovered a tad more.
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