U.S. stocks rally after China rebound

U.S. stocks rebounded in the morning session on Thursday, as a recovery in Chinese stocks boosted investor sentiment.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 131.92 points, or 0.75 percent, to 17,647.34. The S&P 500 was up 14.97 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,061.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index spiked 45.14 points, or 0.92 percent, to 4,954.90.

China stocks staged a strong rally on Thursday, recovering from a steep drop in the past three weeks, as the latest government prop-up measures have borne fruit.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rebounded 5.76 percent, the biggest daily rise in six years, to finish at 3,709.33 points.

On the domestic front, in the week ending July 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 297,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week's revised level, according to the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

According to the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee ( FOMC) on Wednesday, the policy-setting arm of the U.S. Federal Reserve, the information reviewed for the June 16-17 meeting suggested that real gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States was increasing moderately in the second quarter after edging down in the first quarter.

Analysts said the Fed minutes indicated that a rate hike might be pushed back.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) halted trading in all securities starting from 11:32 a.m. EDT, local time, Wednesday, due to an undisclosed technical problem, and resumed floor trading around 3:10 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

Greece's stock exchange will also remain closed until July 13, after authorities decided to extend a bank holiday and capital controls.

Greek Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas said Thursday that a debt deal with lenders will be achieved by this weekend to avert a catastrophic default and a Greek exit from the European Union (EU). Endite