NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks gained modestly Thursday morning as upbeat earnings from Aetna, Marriott and others enabled investors to extend the previous session's advance.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 5.60 to 10,864.22, Charts), the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index (up 1.84 to 1,267.49, Charts) and the Nasdaq composite (up 4.28 to 2,271.26, Charts) all gained in the early going.

Stocks jumped Wednesday as Cisco's strong earnings and forecast helped fuel a broader rally. Some of that momentum continued early Thursday, particularly amid some pleasing earnings.

Aetna (up $3.13 to $99.25, Research) shares jumped after the health insurer posted higher fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates and boosted its 2006 profit forecast.

Hotel chain Marriott International (up $1.79 to $67.90, Research) also posted higher fourth-quarter earnings that topped estimates and raised its current quarter earnings-per-share forecast.

Early economic news supported an advance. Weekly jobless claims rose a smaller-than-expected 4,000 last week to 277,000, the government reported, offering further evidence of a recovering labor market.

A read on December wholesale inventories is due shortly.

On the downside, shares of General Motors (down $0.34 to $21.65, Research) slipped as talks have stalled between the auto maker and the United Auto Workers union regarding job cuts at auto parts supplier Delphi, according to a Wall Street Journal report Thursday.

U.S. light crude oil for March delivery rose 29 cents to $62.84 a barrel in electronic trading.

Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 4.56 percent from 4.55 percent late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and the yen.

COMEX gold for April delivery jumped $8.40 to $558.50 after tumbling over $20 in the last two sessions.

In global trade, major Asian markets ended higher and European shares gained at midday.

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