03:43 PM EDT, 05/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes rose ahead of Thursday's close as traders assessed a report showing that weekly jobless claims jumped to the highest level since August.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8% at 39,381.7, while the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 5,210.9. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.2% to 16,342.6. Real estate and energy paced the sector gains with only technology posting a decline.

The seasonally adjusted number of initial jobless claims in the US increased by 22,000 to 231,000 in the week ended May 4, the Department of Labor said. This marked the highest since the week ended Aug. 26. The consensus was for 212,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

The US two-year yield fell 2.8 basis points to 4.82%, while the 10-year rate declined 2.6 basis points to 4.46%.

Akamai Technologies ( AKAM ) and Unity Software ( U ) are among the companies scheduled to post latest financial results after the closing bell.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.6% to $79.49 a barrel.