U.S. stocks climbed Thursday, with J.P. Morgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson and AT&T pacing the broad advance following better than expected data on employment and the U.S. trade deficit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 28.23 points, or 0.27%, to 10415.24, its sixth increase in the last seven sessions. J.P. Morgan was the measure's best performer, up 98 cents, or 2.5%, to 40.10. The banking giant will repurchase up to $91.3 million in auction rate securities from New Jersey clients in a settlement with the state attorney general's office. Johnson & Johnson was also strong, up 97 cents, or 1.7%, to 59.82. AT&T added 42 cents, or 1.5%, to 27.81. McDonald's kept the Dow's gains in check. The fast-food giant was the measure's worst performer with a drop of 1.71, or 2.3%, to 74.37 after its August same store sales report didn't quite live up to expectations. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 7.33, or 0.33%, to 2236.20. The Standard & Poor's 500 index tacked on 5.31, or 0.48%, to 1104.18. The gains came after the release of data that U.S. jobless benefit applications fell sharply last week, an optimistic sign for the troubled job market, while airplane exports helped shrink the trade deficit in July.

European stock markets rose Thursday, as data showing a decline in U.S. jobless claims relieved some worries over the state of the economy, prompting traders to buy financial and car shares. The Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 1.05% to end at 265.09 points. Investors also got some relief following successful auctions of Irish and Hungarian bonds, coming a day after a well-received Portuguese bond auction. The auto and financial sectors were among the top gainers. In France, the CAC 40 index rose 1.2% to 3,722.15. Shares of PSA Peugeot Citroen advanced 4.6% and those of Renault gained 3.2%. In Germany, car makers Daimler AG added 2.6% on Xetra, as rival BMW AG also rose after reporting an increase in August car sales. Volkswagen AG advanced 2.5%. The auto sector boosted the German DAX 30 index, which ended up 0.9% at 6,221.52 points. Banks also helped out Europe. In Germany, Commerzbank rose 2.6% and Deutsche Bank gained 2.1%. In Paris, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale also posted strong gains. The U.K. FTSE 100 index rose 1.2% to end at 5,494.16 points. London stocks were boosted by gains for miners and banks, along with a jump for Arm Holdings, which rallied 4% after it unveiled a new processor. Meanwhile, the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at 0.5% as expected.

Asian stock markets were mostly higher Thursday with exporters and trading houses supporting the Tokyo market, but banks and property developers fell in China on persistent concerns that Beijing would roll out further tightening measures. Japan's Nikkei Share Average ended 0.8% higher and South Korea's Kospi Composite was up 0.3%. China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.4%. Data showing brisk property transaction activity in major Chinese cities during August stirred worries Beijing may take further action to head of a bubble in the property market. China Vanke fell 3.4% in Shanghai and Poly Real Estate lost 4.1%.

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange ended mostly lower Thursday, with stronger equity markets and upbeat U.S. data unable to pull the complex back into positive territory after its sharp losses in early Asian trade. Equities climbed through the afternoon, following a U.S. Labor Department announcement that weekly jobless claims fell more than expected. Sentiment was also lifted by a Commerce Department report showing the U.S. trade deficit contracted sharply in July, posting its biggest drop in 17 months. And while the metals took an initial boost from the news, it wasn't long before market participants cashed in on the higher prices, sending them lower again. LME three month copper closed 1.6% lower at $7,554 a metric ton. Meanwhile, three-month zinc closed down 3% and three month aluminum ended 2.5% lower. Tin managed slim gains. Crude oil futures reversed course Thursday, settling in the red as traders balked at pushing oil higher on continued worries about high supplies. Light, sweet crude for October delivery settled 42 cents, or 0.6%, lower at $74.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled 70 cents lower at $77.47 a barrel. A drop in U.S. jobless claims that was larger than anticipated, and a surprise draw of crude stockpiles in weekly data from the Department of Energy initially pushed crude as high as $75.96 earlier in the session. Gold futures edged farther from record highs as investors were calmer about the state of the economic recovery and felt less of a need for the metal as a safe haven. The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, fell $6.60, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,250.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.