NEW YORK, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street ended higher Thursday as investors were optimistic about Intel's fourth-quarter report, overshadowing weaker reports on retail sales and initial unemployment claims.

    As Alcoa's earnings missed expectation, investors specially focused on the fourth-quarter results from the world's largest microchip maker Intel, which was due after the market closed on Thursday.

    Intel rose 2.5 percent to 21.48 U.S. dollars in the regular session and extended gains in after-market trading after earnings and sales beat the average analyst estimates. The company posted fourth-quarter net income of 40 cents a share, much better than the 30 cents analysts had expected.

    Thursday's economic data came mixed, adding evidence that the U.S. economy is on track of recovery, but in a slow pace.

    U.S. business inventories rose 0.4 percent in November, fueled chiefly by rising wholesale and manufacturing stockpiles, the Commerce Department announced Thursday. The report showed businesses were feeling more confident that sales will pick up. It was the second straight month that stockpiles rose after 13 months of declines.

    In addition, the Labor Department reported before the opening bell that initial claims for jobless benefits increased by 11,000 to 444,000 last week, more than analysts expected. However, the four-week moving average dropped to its lowest level since August 2008, showing the pace of job-cuttings was trending downwards.

    In a separate report released by the Commerce Department, U.S. retail sales fell 0.3 percent in December, indicating consumers tend to restrain holiday spending amid high unemployment rates.

    JPMorgan Chase & Co. is scheduled to post results on Friday and66 companies in the S&P 500 will release earnings next week. Analysts were expecting a stunning 180 percent year-on-year surge in operating earnings for S&P 500 companies.

    The Dow Jones was up 29.78, or 0.28 percent, to 10,710.55. Broader indexes also ended higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 2.78, or 0.24 percent to 1,148.46 and the Nasdaq gained 8.84,or 0.38 percent, to 2,316.74.