US stock markets climb Thursday

U.S. stock markets rose Thursday after the Labor Department said it was a relatively flat week for first-time jobless benefits claims. The department said there were 4,000 additional benefits claims filed in the week, bringing the weekly total to 367,000. In early afternoon trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 92.26 points, or 0.68 percent, to 13,586.87. The Nasdaq composite index added 9.26 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,144.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 10.26 points, or 0.71 percent, to 1,461.25. The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 9/32 to yield 1.647 percent. The euro rose to $1.3025 from Wednesday's $1.2905. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 78.34 yen from 78.49 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.89 percent, 77.72, to 8,824.59. In London, the FTSE 100 index was flat, rising 0.03 percent, adding 1.97 points to 5,82778.