U.S. Stocks Rise on Falling Jobless Claims; Delta Posts Upbeat Q1

U.S. stocks gained steam on Thursday, following encouraging economic data. Weekly jobless claims fell by 13,000 over the last week to 253,000, pushing the four-week moving average lower. The March consumer price index rose just 0.1 percent during the month, while economists were expecting a 0.2 percent increase. Wells Fargo (WFC) - Get Report , posted net income of $0.99 a share, beating estimates by $0.02 a share, but down from the $1.04 a share earned during the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 4.3 percent, while rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM) - Get Report and Bank of America (BAC) - Get Report reported declining first quarter revenue. Analysts remained worried about the big banks' exposure to sour energy loans, amid the slump in oil prices. Finally, Delta Air Lines (DAL) - Get Report posted adjusted earnings of $1.32 a share, beating estimates by $0.02 a share. Domestic sales rose during the quarter, while international revenue slipped. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.