US stocks rise as traders assess jobs data and bet bank crisis has faded

US stocks climbed on Thursday as traders mulled fresh jobs data and continued to move past concerns around the state of the banking sector following this month's string of bank failures. 

Applications for US unemployment benefits ticked higher last week, but have have stayed low, beneath 200,000, in what's still a robust labor market. Initial filings for unemployment insurance were 198,000 for the week ending on March 25, higher than estimates of 195,000. 

The US 10-year treasury yield hovered close to 3.5%, a far cry from the levels seen earlier this month when the yield on the key government bond was above 4%. 

Following labor data, investors will be focused on personal consumption expenditures data on Friday. 

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after at the 9:30 a.m. ET opening bell on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 4,053.03, up 0.63%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,879.73, up 0.5% (162.13 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 12,007.49, up 0.68% 

Here's what else happened today:

• The CBOE Volatility Index closed under the 20 level for the first time since Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, a sign that markets think the banking crisis may be over.
• Tesla has seen more than $200 billion added to its market cap in the past three months, marking the EV maker's strongest start to the year ever. 

• Legendary investor Ed Yardeni says US stocks could close this year 14% higher because the Federal Reserve will pause rate hikes after the banking turmoil. 

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil up 1% to $73.69 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, increased 0.65% to $78.79 a barrel.
• Gold edged lower to $1,983.50 an ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury was flat at 3.57%.
• Bitcoin ticked up 0.72% to $28,656, while ether declined 0.41% to $1,804.