By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks rose with the broad market on Thursday, as the sector kicked off the first day of the second quarter with crude oil futures topping $85 a barrel for the first time in 18 months and bullish economic data in the U.S. and China. Heading into a three-day weekend, the NYSE Arca Oil Index (XOI 1,097, +16.19, +1.50%) rose 1.3% to 1,095. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index (XNG 546.80, +8.39, +1.56%) jumped 1.4% to 546. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index (OSX 210.31, +4.28, +2.08%) rose 1.8% 201. The broad equities market provided a lift, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU 10,931, +74.44, +0.69%) approached the 11,000 level for the first time since the third quarter of 2008, Crude oil futures broke through to the $85-a-barrel level on better-than-expected U.S. weekly jobless numbers. Meanwhile, China's manufacturing activity accelerated in March, data compiled by two competing industrial surveys. See China manufacturing story. Among stocks in spotlight, Scottish & Southern Energy (UK:SSE 1,101, 0.00, 0.00%) agreed to buy the natural gas and infrastructure assets of Hess (HES 64.16, +1.61, +2.57%) in three regions of the North Sea for $423 million in cash. Shares of Hess Corp. rose 1.3% to $63.38.

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