US: Wall St rises on labour market data, higher oil

[NEW YORK] US stocks rose at the open on Thursday, following an upbeat report on the labor market and as energy shares tracked oil prices higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 86.44 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 17,759.46, the S&P 500 gained 9.57 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 2,051.08 and the Nasdaq Composite added 11.62 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 4,728.33.

Health care stocks were among the leaders, boosted by Pfizer's offer to purchase Hospira in a multi-billion dollar deal.

REUTERS