Stocks edged higher Thursday as investors assessed the latest batch of company earnings reports. There was also encouraging news on hiring as the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits is in decline, according to AP. KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 57 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,573 as of 10:22 a.m. Eastern time. Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed seven points to 1,886 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 26 points to 4,093. MORNING JOE: Keurig Green Mountain climbed $9.14, or 9.9 percent, to $101.30 after the company reported earnings that exceeded the estimates of analysts. Keurig, known for its single-serve coffee brewing system, said late Wednesday that its net income climbed 22 percent in the fiscal second quarter. SUPER BOWL BOOST: Twenty-First Century Fox rose $2.18, or 6.7 percent, to $34.31 after the company reported earnings that surpassed analysts' expectations. Fox's television unit got a boost from higher advertising revenue during the National Football League playoffs and the Super Bowl. CLAIMS FALL: The U.S. government reported that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell 26,000 last week to 319,000, the latest sign that the job market is slowly improving. The drop follows two weeks of increases that reflected mostly temporary layoffs around the Easter holiday. BONDS AND COMMODITIES: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 2.61 percent from 2.59 percent on Wednesday. The price of oil fell 47 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $100.30 a barrel. -- SPA 23:43 LOCAL TIME 20:43 GMT تغريد
