US markets end higher

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CNBC's Julia Boorstin - Stocks rallying to close the Thursday session higher, the Dow finishing up 204 points, the Nasdaq higher by 50 while the S&P 500 added on 20.

Sentiment was helped by a labour department report that initial jobless claims had declined to their lowest levels in ten months, the number fell by 20,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 512,000.

The number of Americans continuing to collect unemployment benefits fell to 5.75 million, the eighth decline in the past nine weeks. Crude oil prices snapping a three day winning streak closing below USD 80/barrel mark, this is investors worry that energy demand would continue to slide ahead of government data about demand due out tomorrow.

Productivity surge in the Q3 at its fastest pace in six years even as US companies reduce labour costs and slash working hours, the labor department says productivity soared to 9.5% last quarter, much better than nearly 6.5% analysts expected.