Wall Street climbs on higher oil prices, quarterly earnings' reports

US stocks rose on Thursday with a broad-based rally across sectors as speculation over China halting US bond purchases eased and investors focused on quarterly earnings reports and higher oil prices.

US crude futures rose to $63.82 a barrel, its highest since December 2014, boosted by a surprise drop in US production and lower crude inventories.

Positive brokerage recommendations on oil majors Exxon and Chevron lifted their shares, helping the S&P energy index climb 0.62 percent.

"It's back to a generally positive mode," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.

At 9:34 a.m. ET (1434 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 46.19 points, or 0.18 percent, at 25,415.32 and the S&P 500 was up 5.29 points, or 0.19 percent, at 2,753.52.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 12.79 points, or 0.18 percent, at 7,166.36.

The S&P and the Nasdaq snapped their six-day rally on Wednesday after Bloomberg News reported Chinese officials had recommended halting its U. S. bond purchases, which China dismissed later.

Also weighing on the dour sentiment was a Reuters report on Wednesday that Canada is increasingly convinced U. S. President Donald Trump would soon announce an exit from the North American Free Trade Agreement.
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