NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- JPMorgan Chase's better-than-expected results and a drop in the number of initial unemployment claims were among the developments boosting stocks Thursday morning.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 34 points, or 0.4% in the early going. The S&P 500 (SPX) index gained 4 points, or 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) added 16 points, or 1%.

"A trickle of news from the financial sector has been more encouraging," said Ken Wattret, economist with BNP Paribas in London, referring to not only to JPMorgan, but to Goldman Sachs' unexpectedly profitable report, which came out on Monday.

"There are some signals of stabilization here and there," said Wattret. "But it's still a pretty difficult environment for banks."

Investors have been receiving mixed messages from the market. While the finance firms have reported profits, foreclosures continue to dog the housing market, according to a new report.

Wall Street staged a late-day rally Wednesday to finish the session higher. The Dow and S&P both gained about 1% while the Nasdaq was little changed.

Earnings: JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) announced first-quarter earnings of $2.1 billion, or 40 cents per share, beating analysts' expectations. JPMorgan stock rose 3% in morning trading.

On the tech front, Nokia (NOK) reported that its operating profit plunged 96% in the first quarter in tandem with declining sales for cell phones. However, some analysts and investors expected even worse results and the stock rallied 10%.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) is on tap to release its results after U.S. markets close.

Economy: Foreclosure filings surged by 24% in the first quarter, compared to one year ago, to their highest levels on record as banks lifted their moratorium on filings, according to a report.

Foreclosures reached 803,489 in the first quarter, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties.

Key government reports on the housing and job markets were released before the bell.

Housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 510,000 last month, down nearly 11% from a revised 572,000 in February, according to the Commerce Department. February starts were originally reported at 583,000.

Applications for building permits, an indicator of future construction activity, fell 9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 513,000 last month. Economists were expecting permits to fall to 549,000.

Foreclosure activity skyrocketed in March and the first quarter of 2009 to their highest levels on record as banks lifted moratoria on filings. Total foreclosure filings - which include default papers, auction sale notices and repossessions - reached 803,489 in the first quarter, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac, on online marketer of foreclosed properties.

Initial jobless claims plunged to 610,000 in the week ended April 11, reported the U.S. Department. That's a decline of 53,000 from the prior week, which the government revised to 663,000. Continuing claims continue to rise.

Also on the economic calendar is the Philadelphia Fed index, a regional reading on manufacturing.

Companies: Mall operator General Growth Properties (GGP) filed for bankruptcy after it was unable to refinance its debt. The company is the latest victim of the credit crisis.

AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) is close to selling its auto insurance division to Swiss firm Zurich Financial Services for approximately $1.5 billion, according to published reports.

World markets: Global investors were wary after China said its economic growth slowed to a pace of 6.1% in the first quarter. Stocks in Japan finished narrowly higher. European markets rallied in the afternoon.

Oil and money: The price of oil gained by 82 cents a barrel to $50.07. The dollar rose against the euro and the British pound, but fell versus the yen.  

An unclear outlook from bellwether Intel late Tuesday kept the tech-fueled Nasdaq from posting similar gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 109 points, or 1.4%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index gained 10 points, or 1.3%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) added 1 point, or 0.1%.

Tech shares dragged on the broad market, while consumer, housing, industrial and commodity shares kept losses in check.

Stocks roiled Monday and fell Tuesday in a choppy start to the week following a five-week run. The advance has been driven by bets that the pace of the recession is slowing. A Federal Reserve report released Wednesday afternoon added to those bets.

The Fed's "Beige Book" periodic reading on the economy showed that overall activity stayed weak or got worse. But five of the 12 districts showed a slowdown in the pace of decline and a few more districts showed certain parts of the economy were stabilizing.

"A lot of recent reports are showing that things might be flattening out and bottoming and the Beige Book seemed to indicate that too," said Stacey Shreft, director of investment strategy at The Mutual Fund Store. "That's good, but it's going to be important that the next set of data that come out reinforce it."

Despite some optimism about the economy, the speed of the stock rally has left Wall Street vulnerable to a bit of a pullback.

In five weeks, the Dow gained 22%, its biggest consecutive five-week run on a percentage basis since 1933, when it gained 31%. The run up followed a rout that left the Dow and S&P 500 at 12-year lows and the Nasdaq at 6-year lows.

This week, stocks have been seesawing.

"I think this is a necessary consolidation at the start of what is supposed to be one of the worst reporting periods in years," said John Forelli, portfolio manager at Independence Investments.

But he said that any consolidation this time is likely to be more modest than the selloffs that followed other big rallies over the last six months.

"Investor sentiment has been improving because there's more confidence about the financial sector," he said. "There could be a 10 or 15% selloff after the rally, but there isn't the sense of panic that would cause a 25% selloff."

Thursday preview: March reports on housing starts and building permits are due from the government before the start of trading. The weekly jobless claims report is also due before the open. The Philadelphia Fed index, a regional read on manufacturing, is due shortly after the open.

On the quarterly results front, JPMorgan Chase and Nokia report profits before the opening bell. Google reports after the close.

Economy: Economic reports Wednesday continued to support hopes that the economy is getting closer to finding its footing.

A report on consumer prices showed inflation remains a non-issue as a result of the recession. Another report showed that New York-area manufacturing weakened at a slower pace in April than in March.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Labor Department's key measure of inflation, fell 0.1% in March after rising 0.4% in February. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would rise 0.1%. The so-called Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2% after climbing 0.2% in the previous month. Economists thought it would rise 0.1%.

CPI fell 0.4% over the last year, the first year-over-year decline since August 1955.

Industrial production fell 1.5% in March, after falling a revised 1.5% in February. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would drop 0.9%. Capacity utilization fell to 69.3% from 70.3% in the prior month. Economists thought it would fall to 69.6%.

Another report, the New York Empire State index on manufacturing activity, improved to negative 14.7 in April from negative 38.2 in March, surprising economists who were looking for a smaller improvement to negative 35.

Wednesday is also the deadline for income tax returns.

Intel: After the market close Tuesday, Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) reported weaker quarterly sales and earnings that nevertheless topped expectations. The company declined to give a current-quarter forecast, but Intel's CEO said that PC sales bottomed in the first quarter. Shares fell 2.4% Wednesday.

Company news: EBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) said late Tuesday that it plans to spin off its Skype Internet telephone unit in an initial public offering next year. Shares were little changed Wednesday.

UBS (UBS) warned that it would post a big quarterly loss and cut almost 9,000 more jobs. Shares were little changed.

Dow defense and aerospace companies Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) and United Technologies (UTX, Fortune 500) both gained, boosting the blue-chip averages. Oil services company Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) and consumer products companies Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500) and Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500) were the Dow's other big advancers.

Market breadth was positive and trading volume was moderate. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers three to two on volume of 700 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners three to two on volume of 1.1 billion shares.

Bonds: Treasury prices dipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 2.79% from 2.78% Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Other markets: In global trading, Asian markets ended higher, with the exception of the Japanese Nikkei. European markets fell in afternoon trading.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and gained against the yen.

U.S. light crude oil for May delivery fell 16 cents to settle at $49.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped after a government report showed weekly supplies rose more than double what was expected.

COMEX gold for June delivery rose $1.50 to settle at $893.50 an ounce.