US stocks edge higher amid concerns over US-China renewed tensions

Most of the US stock indices edged up on Thursday, after upbeat data and a negative US move towards China.

The US Department of Labor revealed that the US unemployment claims fell to 2.43 million in the past week, while the total number of unemployed people was at 38.6 million in 9 weeks.

The US Senate today passed a bill that would prevent Chinese companies from listing their shares for public offering on the US stock exchanges, which is expected to lead to an escalation in tensions between the world's two largest economies.

This would further heighten trade tensions between the US and China, and a Chinese response is highly expected.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 0.4% or 90 points to 24,665 as of 14:10 GMT, and S&P 500 rose 1 point to 2,973 points, while Nasdaq fell 0.2% or 20 points to 9,356.