U.S. stocks waver narrowly amid rising oil prices

U.S. stocks traded mildly higher in the morning session Thursday as investors were encouraged by a strong rebound in oil prices.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62.63 points, or 0.35 percent, to 17,713.89. The S&P 500 increased 6.18 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,057.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 13.18 points, or 0.28 percent, to 4,738.82.

Oil prices surged Thursday, with both U.S. oil and Brent crude jumping nearly 3 percent around midday, as a huge wildfire near Canada's oil sands reservoir raised concerns over a near-term supply shortage.

On the economic front, in the week ending April 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 274,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week's unrevised number of 257,000, said the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 258,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 256,000.

Meanwhile, investors also kept a close eye on Friday's nonfarm jobs report for more clues on the Federal Reserve's next rate hike.

In corporate news, shares of Alibaba soared over 4 percent around midday Thursday after the China-based e-commerce giant delivered upbeat quarterly results.

The company' revenue for the quarter ended March 31 was 3,751 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 39 percent year-over-year, and mobile revenue was 2,029 million dollars, an increase of 149 percent year-over-year.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks extended losses as Wall Street assessed a slew of mixed economic reports. Endit