Wall Street's blue-chip index added to gains on Thursday, a day after leaping above the key 10 000 level for the first time in over a year, as upbeat corporate earnings and economic news helped keep the upward momentum.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 47.08 points (0.47 percent) to end at 10 062.94.

The Nasdaq composite edged up 1.06 points (0.05 percent) to 2173.29 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index added 4.54 points (0.42 percent) to 1096.56.

The market action came after finance giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup both glided past analysts' expectations, while data on unemployment benefit claims and consumer prices were also viewed as positive.

"The current earnings season is unfolding better than expected," said Fred Dickson at DA Davidson & Co.

"This morning's reports from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup add to the list of companies delivering positive surprises."

But trading was muted as many investors locked in gains from the market's strong performance.

Jon Ogg at 24/7 Wall Street said financial shares were mainly lower despite the strong results from Goldman, Citi and others.

"All came in above or in-line with estimates and there is not really anything wrong with the numbers when you compare them to expectations, yet there is some disappointment here from the trading floors," said Ogg.

"We noted yesterday how JPMorgan Chase set the bar extremely high for the rest of the financial leaders. As a result, the common theme here is profit taking in all of the majors."

Economic data was generally positive, showing a drop in unemployment claims and tame inflation.

New claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 10 000 to 514 000 in the week to 10 October the lowest in nine months.

A separate report showed consumer prices rose 0.2 percent, in line with expectations in September on the back of lower increases in gasoline prices and a fall in food prices. Scott Marcouiller at Wells Fargo Advisors said investors must face a decision on whether to cash in profits or push the rally further.

"The crossing of the 10,000 level sets up a potential near-term turning point for stocks," he said.

"Our belief is after a potential very near-term further bounce, it will then lead to some normal modest profit taking. We don't expect the selling will get very far because the market has remained resilient into any setbacks."

Among stocks in focus, Goldman Sachs slipped 1.9 percent to 188.63 dollars and Citigroup shed 5.0 percent to 4.75 dollars after gains earlier this week.

Google fell 1.01 percent to 529.91 dollars. The Internet giant rose in after-hours trade as it reported profits grew to 1.64 billion dollars and its top executive said the worst of the recession is over.

IBM, which also reported results after the bell rang, fell 0.29 percent to 127.98. The computer giant said profits were up 14 percent to 3.2 billion dollars.

Pfizer rose 1.67 percent to 17.66 dollars after completing its acquisition of rival pharmaceutical group Wyeth and cementing its position as the world's biggest drugmaker.

The bond market fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 3.470 percent from 3.423 percent Wednesday and that on the 30-year bond increased to 4.313 percent from 4.275 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.