Currently:

Dow 11,893.56 +70.08 +0.59%

Nasdaq 2,549.59 +10.28 +0.40%

S&P 1,221.35 +9.53 +0.79%

-U.S. stocks gained after investors took heart from stronger U.S. economic data, but were off session highs after the head of the International Monetary Fund stoked fears that Europe's sovereign-debt crisis is worsening. Stocks rose after a seasonally adjusted 366,000 workers filed initial jobless claims in the week ended Dec. 10, the Labor Department said, well below forecasts and the lowest since May 2008. The figures were the latest indication that the weak jobs market is slowly building strength. The four-week moving average of new jobless claims fell to the lowest level since July 2008. But stocks lost some steam after IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that the sovereign-debt crisis requires action by countries outside of the European Union and called the global economic outlook "quite gloomy." The comments put some of the focus back on Europe's sovereign-debt crisis.