Thursday's early afternoon trade: Wall Street gains

US stocks edged higher on Thursday, putting the benchmark S&P 500 index on track for its third straight advance after data pointed to ongoing improvement in the labour market and reinforced expectations for a rally into the end of the year. Many traders were betting a rally into year-end will turn the S&P 500 positive for the year. The index is up 2 percent this week, after rallying 3 percent on Tuesday, and has cut its losses for the year to just 1 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 39.25 points, or 0.32 percent, to 12,146.99. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 6.81 points, or 0.55 percent, to 1,250.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.49 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2,593.46.