Stocks Rise in Early Trading

Stocks opened higher on Wall Street on Thursday as Greece cleared the way for a debt rescue package.

Greek lawmakers passed an austerity bill that would allow international lenders to release more emergency loans. Optimism about averting a widespread European debt crisis has sent markets higher since Monday.

However, a report on claims for American jobless benefits tempered gains on financial markets. Worries about the economy and job growth have pushed stocks lower since late April.

As a volatile quarter drew to a close, major stock indexes still showed a three-month loss. The broad Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down 1.4 percent for the quarter as of Wednesday’s close.

In early trading Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 112.27, or 0.92 percent, to 12,373.69. The Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 9.61, or 0.74 percent, to 1,317.02, and the Nasdaq composite index added 23.52 points, 0.86 percent, to 2,764.01.

In Washington, the Labor Department said that slightly fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week compared with the week before, but the level of claims was still high, at 428,000.

The previous week, applications had jumped to a one-month high. New unemployment claims have stayed above 400,000 for 12 straight weeks, a sign that companies aren’t hiring at a rate that can sustain job growth. The slowdown in hiring has caused concerns that the economy will take longer than expected to return to health.

Applications had fallen in February to a level that economists consider healthy, but surged in April to an eight-month high.

On Wednesday, strong signs Greece would pass its austerity bill and a Bank of America settlement over failed mortgage securities pushed stocks higher for a third straight day. The Dow rose 72.73 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 12,261.42, and the S.& P. 500 index rose 10.74, or 0.83 percent, to 1,307.64.