NEW YORK, June 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday as oil prices tried to recover from previous sessions' sharp declines.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 39.76 points, or 0.19 percent, to 21,449.79. The S&P 500 gained 4.03 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,439.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 5.53 points, or 0.09 percent, to 6,239.48.
The market was under pressure on Tuesday and Wednesday as the energy sector dropped over 2 percent on falling oil prices. Oil prices declined over 4 percent in two days amid concerns of rising production.
Investors' sentiment was lifted as crude futures for August delivery climbed 1.41 percent to trade at 43.13 U.S. dollars a barrel in mid-session on Thursday.
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks were also supported by rising health care sector. The sector climbed over 1 percent on Thursday as investors were awaiting the unveiling of the Senate's health care bill next week, with aims at repealing and replacing Obamacare.
On the economic front, in the week ending June 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial U.S. jobless claims was 241,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level. The latest reading was slightly above market consensus of 240,000.
In corporate news, shares of American Airline increased over 1.5 percent on Thursday, as the air carrier disclosed that Qatar Airways intended to make a "significant investment" in the company.
