NEW YORK, July 21 (UPI) -- U.S. markets posted early gains Thursday despite a Labor Department report that first-time unemployment claims rose by 10,000 in the week.
Initial jobless benefit claims rose to 418,000 in the week ending July 16, the department said.
The Conference Board in New York said U.S. leading economic indicators rose 0.3 percent in July with the Leading Economic Index reaching 115.3.
In midmorning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 125.82 points, 1 percent, to 12,697.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 1.14 percent, 15.14 points, to 1,340.98. The Nasdaq composite index added 0.85 percent, 23.98, to 2,838.21.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 14/32 to yield 2.981 percent.
The euro was trading at $1.4391 from Wednesday's $1.4216. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 78.59 yen from Wednesday's 78.78 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was flat, adding 0.04 percent, 4.49 points, to 10,010.39.
