NEW YORK, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as series of positive economic data and some companies' good performance boosted the market sentiment.

The Labor Department said the number of people filing for jobless benefits dipped by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 420,000 in the week ended Dec. 11, meeting the market expectation. The four-week average of initial claims fell for the sixth straight week to 422,750, the lowest level since August 2008.

The Commerce Department said that U.S. trade deficits rose to 127 billion U.S. dollars in the third quarter, its highest since late 2008, due to a jump in imports and a sign that consumer spending was picking up.

FedEx Corp., the second-largest U.S. package-shipping company, posted quarterly profit and raised its full-year forecast, which also give investors reason for optimism.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 41.78 points, or 0.36 percent, to 11,499.25. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 7.64 points, or 0.62 percent, to 1,242.87 and the Nasdaq was up 20.09 points, or 0.77 percent, to 2,637.31.