12:32 PM EDT, 04/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark stock indexes rose with government bond yields, while crude oil was up slightly after midday on Thursday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 5,047.8, with the Nasdaq Composite up 0.5% to 15,759.6 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.7% higher at 37,999.2. Financials and communication services led the top gainers, with all sectors in the green intraday.

In company news, Genuine Parts ( GPC ) shares surged 12% intraday, the top performer on the S&P 500, after the company reported higher year-over-year adjusted earnings and net sales.

Equifax's ( EFX ) shares slumped more than 6% intraday, the second-worst performer on the S&P 500 after Q1 sales missed expectations and the company's full-year forecast also lagged market consensus.

In economic news, the seasonally adjusted number of initial jobless claims remained flat at 212,000 during the week ended April 13, the US Department of Labor said Thursday. The consensus was for 215,000 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The four-week moving average was unchanged, "remaining at the lower end of the range since claims started to fall in the middle of September last year," Jefferies Economist Thomas Simons wrote in a note.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's monthly manufacturing index rose to 15.5 in April after slipping to 3.2 in March, compared with expectations for a drop to 2 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The US 10-year yield jumped 5.6 basis points to 4.64%. A 5.4 basis-point increase in the two-year Treasury pushed the yield to 4.99%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.4% at $83.03 a barrel.