US Markets
Financial stocks led major indexes higher early Thursday afternoon as investors digested stronger bank earnings as well as a rush of U.S. economic data and a pair of well-received European bond auctions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32 points, or 0.3%, to 12610 in early afternoon trade, setting up the blue-chip measure to close at what would be a six-month high. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 6.6 points, or 0.5%, to 1315 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 22 points, or 0.8%, to 2791. Bank of America was by far the blue-chip Dow's biggest gainer, rising 3.7% after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that exceeded expectations. Credit-loss provisions and the net charge-off rate fell sharply from year-earlier levels. Morgan Stanley gained 5.4% and was one of the top performers in the S&P 500 after the Wall Street firm reported a narrower-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and revenue that topped estimates. Leading a heavy calendar of U.S. economic data, the number of people seeking new unemployment benefits in the U.S. tumbled by 50,000 last week to the lowest level since April 2008. Seasonal factors typical of this time of the year may have increased the figure's volatility, however, the Labor Department said. Stocks briefly lost some of their morning momentum after the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's January index of business activity showed a reading of 7.3. The figure undershot economists' forecasts, but it was still an improvement on December's reading of 6.8. F5 Networks Inc. posted the strongest gains in the S&P 500. The internet networking equipment maker's fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 19% and the company also gave an upbeat earnings outlook. Shares were up 13%.

European Markets
European stocks rose Thursday, with banks pacing the advance, following solid earnings from U.S. peers and solid Spanish and French debt auctions. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended up 1.2% at 256.57. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index closed up 0.7% at 5741.15, Germany's DAX added 1% to 6416.26 and France's CAC-40 index ended up 2% at 3328.94. Debt sales in Spain and France Thursday spurred investor confidence, as the auctions showed firm demand, while borrowing costs fell for both countries. The Spanish government exceeded its target of auctioning between EUR3.5 billion and EUR4.5 billion of debt. It raised EUR3 billion in its first 10-year bond sale this year and also sold other maturities for a total auction sale of EUR6.6 billion. The Spanish Ibex 35 index closed 2.2% higher at 8,603.80, with Bankinter SA rising 6.7%, Banco de Sabadell SA adding 5.5%, Banco Santander SA climbing 5% and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA gaining 4.8%. In France, the government sold close to EUR8 billion of medium-term bonds, or BTANs, meeting its target range of EUR6.5-EUR8 billion. Yields declined across the board compared with recent auctions. Alstom SA jumped 13.7%, posting the biggest gain in the French CAC-40, after reporting a third-quarter sales fall, but an upbeat outlook. Shares of Carrefour SA fell 1.1%. The French retailer reported a 0.8% drop in fourth-quarter sales. Earnings reports from the U.S. and data from the U.S. Labor Department further supported the positive mood Thursday, as did well-received fourth-quarter earnings from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. Investors were also looking for any progress in talks between the Greek government and its private debt holders. The parties appeared to be close to an agreement on fresh proposals Thursday afternoon, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Greek FTSE/ATHEX 20 index jumped 3.2% to 269.17, outperforming the rest of the European stock markets. Among other banks, Banca Popolare Di Milano SCARL surged 17.6%, closing at the top of the Stoxx 600. Commerzbank AG jumped 14.8% after it said it can meet the capital requirements of the European Banking Authority without state aid. Deutsche Bank AG rose 8.4%, Societe Generale SA jumped 13.2%, Credit Suisse Group AG advanced 6.8% and BNP Paribas SA added 8.2%. In the U.K., Barclays PLC was up 10.1%, posting the biggest gain in the FTSE 100 index, followed by Lloyds Banking Group PLC, which rose 9.1%, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, up 8.9%.

Asian Markets
Most Asian markets pushed higher Thursday after the International Monetary Fund unveiled a plan to boost its lending resources and the Chinese central bank moved to ease liquidity in the money markets. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.0% and South Korea's Kospi gained 1.2%. China's Shanghai Composite climbed 1.3% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.3%. The gains came after the People's Bank of China offered CNY183 billion in 14-day reverse repurchase agreements Thursday. The injection, coming amid tight liquidity ahead of next week's Lunar New Year holidays, pulled short-term borrowing rates lower in Chinese interbank money markets. Chinese markets are closed for the whole of next week, while Hong Kong bourses are shut from Monday to Wednesday for the Lunar New Year holidays. Taiwan's markets, which were closed Thursday, will now only reopen Jan. 30. Shares of chip makers marched higher in Asia after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rallied 5% in the U.S. overnight. Shares of Hynix Semiconductor rose 4.2% in Seoul, while Samsung Electronics gained 4.1% despite news it faced a patent suit from Eastman Kodak Co. In Tokyo, Elpida Memory Inc. which is reportedly in talks for a tie-up with Micron gained 5.3%, while Kyocera advanced 1.9%. Real-estate shares were among the leaders in Hong Kong as well as Shanghai, with some major names extending gains from Wednesday's session after weak Chinese housing data earlier in the week raised expectations for support from the central bank. Shares of China Overseas Land & Investment climbed 2.8% in Hong Kong and Poly Real Estate Group jumped 5.4% in Shanghai. Among Hong Kong developers, Hang Lung Properties soared 9.7% after reporting a 29% increase in its underlying profit for the six months to Dec. 31. Many financial firms also saw strong gains after better-than-expected quarterly results from Goldman Sachs Group. In Japan, Nomura Holdings added 4.3% and Daiwa Securities Group rose 4.9%.

Commodities
Base metals closed higher on the London Metal Exchange Thursday, boosted by a stronger euro and a more positive market tone following encouraging economic data from the U.S. At the close, LME three-month copper was slightly higher at $8,360 a metric ton, having earlier hit a four-month high at $8,410/1.5/ton. Nickel lead the complex's gains, up 3.6% at $20,185/ton at the close of open outcry trading. Crude-oil futures turned lower Thursday after a report on U.S. oil stockpiles suggested U.S. fuel demand remains weak. Light, sweet crude oil for February delivery settled 20 cents lower at $100.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from highs above $102 before the data were released. The U.S. Energy Information Administration report showed a 3.4-million-barrel decline in U.S. oil inventories for the week ended Jan. 13, which surprised analysts who had called for an increase. But a sharp decline in imports, combined with an increase in gasoline stocks and weak demand for the fuel has painted a bleak picture of domestic gasoline use. Gold futures ended slightly lower Thursday, pulling back after a two-session gain of nearly 2% as a bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. jobless claims and news that consumer prices were unchanged in December dulled some safe-haven demand for the metal. Gold futures for February delivery fell $5.40, or 0.3%, to end at $1,654.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. They earlier traded as high as $1,670.60 an ounce.