New York, July 1 : US stocks rose Thursday with major indexes gained for the fourth consecutive day, as improvement in Greece and upbeat manufacturing data reignited hopes for a sustainable recovery, Xinhua reported.

The strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to keep an eye on Greece, which is taking further steps towards receiving additional financial assistance.

After voting in favor of a crucial package of austerity measures Wednesday, the Greek parliament has voted to pass a second bill enabling the rapid implementation of the plan.

Economic news came in mixed, but investors were apparently cheered by a much-better-than-expected report in the manufacturing sector.

According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), its Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index unexpectedly increased in June, climbing to 61.1 compared to a 56.6 in May.

Earlier, the Labor Department said before the opening bell that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped 1,000 to 428,000 in the week ending June 25, weaker than market had expected.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of new claims, considered a more reliable indicator because it smoothes out volatile weekly data, rose by 500 to 426,750, showing there is still little progress in the jobs market.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 152.92 points, or 1.25 percent, to 12,414.34. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up 13.23 points, or 1.01 percent, to 1,320.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 33.03 points, or 1.21 percent, to 2,773.52.(IANS)