US blue chip stocks inched higher on Thursday, as rising oil prices lifted energy shares like Exxon Mobil and helped offset a report showing an unexpected drop in factory activity in the mid-Atlantic states. Oil jumped more than a dollar, with US crude futures for July delivery up $1.01 to settle at $56.58 a barrel. Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp climbed 1.3 percent to $60.04, boosting both the blue chip Dow and the broad S&P 500.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 14.73 points, or 0.14 percent, at 10,581.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 4.74 points, or 0.39 percent, at 1,211.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 13.46 points, or 0.65 percent, at 2,088.38.