NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks were slightly higher Thursday morning after the European Central Bank announced the start date of its quantitative-easing program and increased its growth forecasts for the eurozone. 

The S&P 500 was up 0.23%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.46%.

European markets climbed after the European Central Bank left rates unchanged at 0.5% and President Mario Draghi said the group now expects GDP to rise 1.5% over 2015v -- up from previous expectations of 1% -- and as high as 2.1% by 2017. Draghi also said the ECB will begin purchasing eurozone government bonds on March 9 under its $66 billion-a-month debt repurchase program.

Costco (COST) - Get Report jumped 2.3% after earning $1.35 a share in its second quarter, 17 cents better than forecast. Comparable-store sales rose 4% in the U.S., while international comps increased 8%, excluding gas and foreign exchange pressures.

AbbVie (ABBV) - Get Report won a bidding war for Pharmacyclics (PCYC) , a cancer biotech company it will purchase for $21 billion in cash and stock. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Get Report was previously reported to have expressed interest. AbbVie shares sank 3.3%, while Pharmacyclics added 10.5%.

U.S. markets appeared unaffected by a tick up in jobless claims for the week and a larger fall in productivity and costs over the fourth quarter. Initial jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 27, increased to 320,000 from 313,000 a week earlier. Economists had expected a drop to 300,000.

Fourth-quarter productivity and costs were revised down to a decline of 2.2% from a previous 1.8% drop. However, that came in slightly narrower than an expected 2.3% decline.

January factory orders were also sluggish, falling 0.2% to $470 billion compared to an expected 0.2% increase. The measure was far better than December's 3.5% decline. 

All benchmark indexes ended Wednesday's session in the red, spooked by a sub-par employment report from ADP that foreshadowed potential weakness in the official jobs report out Friday.

China's Shanghai Composite closed nearly 1% lower after the country forecast slower growth. A 7% GDP growth target over 2015 was provided, below 7.4% in 2014.

Apple (AAPL) - Get Report reportedly delayed production of its 12.9-inch iPad to September due to supply issues with its display panels, according to Bloomberg. The company had previously expected to begin production in the first quarter. Shares dropped 1.1%.

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) - Get Report dropped 2.3% after shares were downgraded to "sell" from "hold" at Topeka Capital. The firm said the retailer's business turnaround was taking longer than expected.

Time Warner (TWX) climbed 0.6% after Deutsche Bank initiated shares with a 'buy' and $100 price target. The firm said the media company would see revenue growth on the back of subscriptions and affiliate fees rather than advertising. 

After the markets close on Thursday, the Federal Reserve will post initial results of its annual stress tests on major banks, including Bank of America (BAC) - Get Report, Citigroup (C) - Get Report, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) - Get Report, and GoldmanSachs (GS) - Get Report.

-- Written by Keris Alison Lahiff in New York.