• The S&P 500 rose to its highest in more than five months and the Dow climbed for a fifth session on Wednesday as solid earnings boosted financial and industrial stocks and reinforced expectations for a strong second-quarter reporting season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 79.4 points, or 0.32 percent, to 25,199.29, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 6.07 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,815.62 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 0.67 point, or 0.01 percent, to 7,854.44.

• S&P 500 earnings are now expected to have increased 21.4 percent in the second quarter, up from an estimate of 20.7 percent on July 1. Of the 48 companies in the index that have reported so far, 87.5 percent posted earnings above analyst expectations.

• Data showed the U.S. housing market continues to be an economic soft spot. Housing starts fell 12.3 percent in June to a nine-month low as homebuilders struggled with higher lumber prices and persistent land and labor shortages.

• Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, questioned by members of a House of Representatives committee, repeated on Wednesday that rising world protectionism would over time pose a risk to a U.S. and global expansion that appears largely on track to continue.

• Asian shares carved out moderate gains in early Thursday trade, taking cues from Wall Street's overnight advance as investors there parsed through stronger-than-expected corporate earnings.

• The Nikkei 225 edged higher by 0.15 percent while the broader Topix slipped 0.08 percent. The mining sector led gains in early trade, rising 2.99 percent, but consumer stocks traded lower. Semiconductor industry plays climbed, with Advantest rising 3.11 percent.

• Over in South Korea, the Kospi tacked on 0.2 percent as automakers rebounded from the last session's declines, with large cap tech stocks also advancing. Steelmakers, however, dropped, with Posco lower by 1.88 percent.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC