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By Ellie Ismailidou and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Jobless claims miss expectations; Alibaba climbs on strong earnings

U.S. stocks rose modestly after the opening bell Thursday, as oil prices surged on worries that wildfires raging in Alberta could hamstring crude output.

The S&P 500 index rose 3 points, or 0.1%, to 2,053, led by strong gains in the energy sector, up 1.7%.

The Dow industrials rose 25 points, or 0.1%, to 17,670, boosted by a 1.3% rise in Chevron Corporation, (CVX). The Nasdaq Composite climbed 4 points, or less than 0.1%, to 4,729.

See also: How a raging inferno in Alberta is hobbling oil production (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-a-raging-inferno-in-alberta-is-hobbling-oil-production-2016-05-05)

Strong earnings from companies like Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) also helped boost the broader market.

But the main benchmarks were weighed by weak data on the U.S. labor market, where the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-climb-17000-to-274000-2016-05-05) at the end of April rose to a five-week high, missing economists' expectations.

The jobless-claims data came one day after a weaker-than-expected report on private-sector payrolls and a fall in worker productivity, which pushed stocks to finish lower on Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-mired-in-red-with-private--payrolls-data-on-tap-2016-05-04).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2016 10:01 ET (14:01 GMT)

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