U.S. stocks open higher amid earnings, data

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, as McDonald' s financial results beat investors' expectations and jobless claims data showed a strengthening labor market.

Shares of McDonald's jumped over 7 percent in the early trading Thursday, after the company' s quarterly earnings and revenue beat estimates as demand recovered in China.

Before Thursday' s opening bell, McDonald' s announced results for the third quarter. Its diluted earnings per share were 1.40 U.S. dollars, an increase of 28 percent from a year ago.

On the economic front, in the week ending Oct. 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 259,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week' s revised level, according to the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

Overseas, European equities traded higher Thursday after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged.

In Asia, China' s shares closed higher on Thursday with healthcare, transport and service sectors leading the gains, reversing a large fall registered during the last trading day.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 124.43 points, or 0.72 percent, to 17, 293.04. The S&P 500 gained 13.15 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,032.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 30.61 points, or 0.63 percent, to 4,870.73.

U.S. stocks ended lower Wednesday, as Wall Street meditated on a mixed bag of quarterly results from big companies. Endi