U.S. Stocks Gain Steam as Alibaba and Macy's Beat Earnings Estimates

U.S. stocks moved higher Thursday, as Alibaba (BABA) - Get Report and Macy's (M) - Get Report reported better-than-expected earnings. Alibaba posted earnings of $0.74 a share, beating estimates of $0.62. Revenue soared 59 percent year-over-year to $4.84 billion, eclipsing estimates of $4.52 billion. Macy's shares surged after the company announced it will close 100 stores by early next year. That's roughly 15 percent of its total locations. The retailer reported fiscal second quarter earnings of $0.54 a share on sales of $5.87 billion, beating estimates of $0.45 and $5.75 billion. Plus, weekly jobless claims fell by 1,000 over the past week to 266,000, according to the Labor Department. Analysts were forecasting a decline to 265,000 claims. Apple's (AAPL) - Get Report price target was raised by RBC Capital analysts to $117 a share from $115. The stock currently trades near $108. The analysts expect a rise in iPhone sales later this year. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.