US stocks rise to head for 4th straight win as investors digest latest jobs data

• US stocks gained ground Thursday, putting the S&P 500 in line for a fourth consecutive rise. 
• Chip stocks helped put the Nasdaq Composite on course to extend its own win streak. 
• Weekly jobless claims rose more than expected, by 4,000 to 235,000. 

US stocks advanced Thursday, with tech shares among gainers as investors set aside a rise in jobless claims to a six-month high. 

Wall Street's big three indexes were on course to rise for a fourth consecutive session. Chip stocks, including Intel and Nvidia, were among the early winners after Samsung, the world's largest chipmaker, offered a solid second-quarter earnings outlook. 

Investors gearing up for Friday's US jobs report for June assessed weekly jobless claims data from the Labor Department. Claims for unemployment benefits rose modestly, by 4,000 to 235,000. The reading was ahead of the Econoday estimate of 230,000 claims.

Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday: 

•  S&P 500: 3,872.81, up 0.72%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 31,284.07, up 0.79% (246.39 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 11,421.80, up 0.53%

Investors entered the session with news of potential fresh economic stimulus from the Chinese government, with officials in the world's second-largest economy looking at $220 billion in sales of special bonds by local governments, according to Bloomberg.

Around the markets, meme stock and videogames retailer GameStop rose after the company said it plans a 4-for-1 stock split.

A Russian court has ordered the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which transports oil from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea, to suspend operations for 30 days. The block could pull 1 million barrels a day from Europe's supply. 

Shell logged an extra $1 billion from oil refining in three months as gas prices soared. 

Oil prices gained ground. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2% to $99.69 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, added on 1.1% to trade at $101.75. 

Gold rose 0.4% at $1,742.90 per ounce. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped 1 basis point to 2.91%. 

Bitcoin rose 0.3% to $20,449.60.