New York, Nov 8 (IANS): US stocks closed higher, as Wall Street remained optimistic for a potential approach to ease lingering US-China trade tensions while the latest jobs data also lent support.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 182.24 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 27,674.80 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 8.40 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 3,085.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 23.89 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 8,434.52, Xinhua reported.

The majority of the 30 blue-chip stocks in the Dow traded higher around market close, with shares of trade bellwethers Boeing and Caterpillar climbing 1.47 per cent and 1.04 per cent, among the best performers.

Chip stocks, normally sensitive to trade, also notched gains, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising 0.7 per cent.

Among big corporate names, Micron Technology and Advanced Micro Devices saw their shares advancing 1.51 per cent and 0.97 per cent respectively.

Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher around the closing bell, with the energy sector up 1.43 per cent, leading the winners.

Shares of Qualcomm rose 6.32 per cent, after the US semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company reported third-quarter earnings that topped analysts' estimates, as boosted by its licensing operation.

On the economic front, US initial jobless claims fell to 211,000 in the week ending November 2, down 8,000 from the previous week's revised level, the US Labor Department said Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 215,250, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised level.