NEW YORK, July 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rose for the third straight day on Thursday as investors were heartened by a bullish jobs report.
The Labor Department said the number of workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits dropped by 21,000 to 454,000 in the week ended July 3. The decline in initial claims was more than economists had expected but the previous week's level was revised upward from 472,000 to 475,000.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund raised its 2010 world growth forecast to 4.6 percent from its previous estimate of 4.2 percent, but warning that debt problems in Europe could stall the rebound.
Additionally, U.S. retailers reported sales gains in June, but some investors believed the results were inflated by the Memorial Day Holiday.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 120.71 points, or 1.20 percent, to 10,138.99. The Standard Poor's 500 index rose 9.98 points, or 0.94 percent, to 1,070.25 while the Nasdaq was up 15.93 points, or 0.74 percent, to 2,175.40.