Wall Street climbs with oil after claims data, Pfizer deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. 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 <.DJI> rose 86.44 points, or 0.49 percent, to 17,759.46, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 9.57 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,051.08 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 11.62 points, or 0.25 percent, 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.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Bernadette Baum)