U.S. stocks rose after firm readings on the labor market and manufacturing activity, as blue chips flirted with a seventh consecutive gain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 13 points, or 0.1%, to 13208 in morning trade. Dow industrials climbed 3.4% over the last six sessions, the longest such run since an eight-session streak ended in February.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 4 points, or 0.3%, to 1398 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 10 points, or 0.3%, to 3051.

Financial and industrial stocks were Thursday's biggest gainers. Technology stocks weren't far behind, as Apple briefly topped $600 for the first time. Utility stocks and consumer staples lagged.

Apple rose 0.3% after a Dutch court said Samsung Electronics can't pursue injunctions for patent infringement as long as Apple is willing to negotiate license agreements. Among blue chips, Bank of America rose 2.5% and Intel rose 1.1%.

A raft of U.S. economic data offered more confirmation that the U.S. economic recovery is gaining steam. The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. Initial jobless claims tumbled by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 351,000 last week. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast that claims would fall by 5,000.

"Those unemployment numbers--they're not great, but they're good enough to keep the improving trend story and the economy going," said Channing Smith, managing director at Capital Advisors.

New York manufacturing activity accelerated in March. The Empire State's business conditions index increased for the fourth consecutive month to 20.21 from 19.53 in February, the highest in well over a year. Economists had expected the index to drop to 17.9. A separate report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank showed an index on mid-Atlantic factory activity rose to 12.5 in March from 10.2 in February, better than expectations for a reading of 10.5.

U.S. wholesale prices increased in February at the fastest pace in five months, driven by rising gasoline costs. The producer price index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, slightly less the expectations for a 0.5% rise.

European markets mostly edged lower, with the Stoxx Europe 600 falling 0.2%. London's FTSE 100 Index declined 0.2% after Fitch Ratings cuts its outlook on the U.K. to negative, saying the country's financial flexibility was "very limited."

Asian bourses were mostly lower. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.7%, but Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.7% to post its third consecutive gain.

Crude futures gained 0.2% to $105.68 a barrel, while gold futures added 0.3% to $1,648.40 a troy ounce. The U.S. dollar lost ground against both the euro and the yen. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds fell to 2.269%.

In deal news, Cisco Systems plans to acquire NDS Group, a U.K.-based video software maker, in a $4 billion deal. The deal reflects Cisco's increased strategic focus on video. Cisco fell 1.1%.

In other corporate news, Guess reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that were in line with expectations, but revenue fell short, and the company provided first-quarter earnings and revenue outlooks well below current projections. Shares of the apparel and accessories retailer slumped 12%.

Capital One Financial said it plans to offer up to $1.25 billion worth of its common stock in a public sale to help fund its previously announced acquisition of HSBC's U.S. credit card business. Capital One rose 0.5%.

Radvision agreed to be acquired by Avaya in a deal valued at $230 million. Shares of the video conferencing technologies company tacked on 4.5%.

Vera Bradley slid 9.7% after reporting fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates, but provided a first-quarter earnings outlook that was below current projections.

Winnebago Industries reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter revenue, but also surprise loss for the quarter because of increased discounts and aggressive pricing strategies. Shares rose 7.4%.

--By Chris Dieterich, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2611; christopher.dieterich@dowjones.com