New York  - Stocks rose Thursday on Wall Street after aluminium giant Alcoa Inc kicked off earnings reports for the quarter with a surprising profit after three straight quarters of losses.

Alcoa, which announced its earnings after markets closed Wednesday, saw its shares increase 1.1 per cent to 14.35 dollars per share on the news.

Investors were heartened by weekly jobless data showing fewer jobs were lost than analysts expected. The Labour Department said 521,000 initial unemployment claims were filed last week, 33,000 fewer than a week earlier and the lowest level since January.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 61.29 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 9,786.87. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 7.9 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 1,065.48. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 13.6 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 2,123.93.

The US currency fell to 67.6 euro cents from 68.09 euro cents on Wednesday. The dollar fell against the Japanese currency to 88.38 yen from 88.6 yen. (dpa)