US stock markets advanced on Thursday, led by Nasdaq as chip stocks rallied.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 148.90 points, or 0.38%, at the open to 39,661.03. The S&P 500 opened higher by 28.81 points, or 0.55%, at 5,253.43, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 147.83 points, or 0.90%, to 16,517.24 at the opening bell.
Crude oil prices were mostly flat on Thursday.
Brent crude futures for May were down 31 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $85.64 a barrel by 1213 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate futures for May were down 30 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $80.97 a barrel.
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