NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stocks rallied at the open Thursday as investors took in a slew of decent earnings news and forecasts from companies such as Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Caterpillar.

Around 9:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average (up 8.02 to 8326.75, Charts), the S&P 500 index (up 6.13 to 884.49, Charts) and the Nasdaq composite (up 21.99 to 1381.47, Charts) all posted steady gains.

Tech stocks rallied after a large number of companies recorded relatively strong earnings and gave fairly optimistic forecasts.

The list of names included wireless telecom Qualcomm (QCOM: up $1.69 to $38.38, Research, Estimates), which reported a profit of 42 cents per share late Wednesday, up from the 23 cents earned a year earlier and better than expected. The firm also said its current quarter and full-year results will top analysts' estimates.

Chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN: up $1.56 to $15.81, Research, Estimates) said late Wednesday that it earned 6 cents per share, 3 cents better than expected and an improvement over the loss of 6 cents per share it reported a year earlier. The firm expects the current quarter to top estimates by a few pennies.

Additionally, construction equipment maker Caterpillar (CAT: down $0.30 to $44.15, Research, Estimates), a Dow component, reported an improved profit early Thursday that topped analysts' estimates, while AT&T (T: down $4.00 to $21.32, Research, Estimates) reported results that met analysts estimates, but issued cautious forward-looking comments.

Fast-food chain McDonald's (MCD: down $0.23 to $15.13, Research, Estimates), also a Dow stock, reported its first-ever quarterly loss on weaker operating income. Nonetheless, it met estimates.

Investors seemed to disregard the weekly jobless claims report, which showed a rise last week from the previous week, that was a little less than what analysts were predicting.

Asian-Pacific stocks finished mostly higher Thursday, with the Nikkei index up 2.1 percent in Tokyo. European markets gained at midday.

Treasury prices fell in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield up to 3.96 percent from 3.92 percent late Wednesday.

The dollar continued its slide, dropping to a new three-year low against the euro and weakening against the yen.