U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the S&P 500 gaining around 1% on Thursday. The Dow traded up 0.69% to 39,031.86 while the NASDAQ rose 1.33% to 16,411.69. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 1.07% to 5,255.11. Leading and Lagging SectorsInformation technology shares climbed by 1.6% on Thursday. In trading on Thursday, utilities shares fell by 0.2%. Top HeadlineU.S. initial jobless claims declined by 17,000 to 230,000 in the week ending August 3, compared to market estimates of 240,000. Equities Trading UP                        Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc.  (NASDAQ:CDT) shares shot up 100% to $0.3304 after the company announced it entered into an exclusive license agreement with AstraZeneca to develop AZD1656 and AZD5658. Shares of Comstock Inc. (NASDAQ: