U.S. stocks finished higher on Thursday, as all three major indexes surged over 1 percent, helped by a strong economic report on business activity. In world markets, European stocks ended higher, led by the CAC 40 in France and the FTSE 100 both rising 1.5 percent. Asian markets also ended higher, led by the Han Seng in Hong Kong rising 1.5 percent. In U.S. economic news, the Chicago purchasing managers index, which measures business activity in the Midwest, jumped 6.1 in June from 56.6 the previous month. Economists were expecting the measure to fall to 54. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits was mostly unchanged last week. Unemployment benefits applications declined by 1,000 to 428,000, the department said. Applications have topped 400,000 for 12 consecutive weeks. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro and the yen. Light sweet crude oil for August delivery rose 65 cents to $95.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures fell $7.60 to $1,502.80 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 152.92, or 1.3 percent, to 12,414.34. Intel, Caterpillar, and Hewlett-Packard led the index, as shares of all three companies rose about 3 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 13.23, or 1.0 percent, to 1,320.64. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 33.03, or 1.2 percent, to 2,773.52.
