The major U.S. stock indexes posted gains in midday trading Thursday after reports from the government and a private payroll company indicated improvements in the country's job market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up seven-tenths of a percent. The S&P 500 index advanced nine-tenths of a percent. And the NASDAQ gained 1.3 percent.

European stock prices closed higher. London's Financial Times index gained almost nine-tenths of one percent to end at 6,055. The CAC-40 in Paris advanced almost half a percent to finish at 3,980. And the DAX index in Frankfurt rose half a percent to close at 7,471.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index lost one-tenth of a percent to finish at 10,071. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose less than one-tenth of one percent to finish the day's trading at 22,530.

The price of gold lost less than $1 to trade at $1,528.53 an ounce.

The dollar traded lower against the yen and the euro.