By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch)--U.S. stocks edged higher Thursday, with the main indexes set to finish a holiday-shortened week with solid gains. The benchmark S&P 500 is on track for the best weekly gain since July 2013.

U.S. markets are closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday.

On Thursday, investors weighed a mixed batch of earnings reports against largely positive economic data. Thursday has one of the busiest schedules in the earnings season, as 25 companies on the S&P 500 are scheduled to report profits, according to FactSet.

The S&P 500 (SPX) was 4 points, or 0.2% higher at 1,866.40, building on three straight days of gains, which on Wednesday sent the benchmark index into positive territory for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was 11 points higher at 16,436.33.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rose 14 points, or 0.3%, to 4,100.11.

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"We expect today's trading to be quiet, as a lot of investors are probably consolidating ahead of the long weekend," said Jim Russell, senior equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

"It appears the investing community will give somewhat of a free pass to companies this quarter, as the cold-weather excuse for lower profits is legitimate. This will not be the case in the next quarter," he added.

In economic news, two separate reports pointed to more evidence that softening in the economy was largely weather related.

The number of people who applied for unemployment-insurance benefits increased less than expected, a slight increase from the lowest level since 2007, signaling that employers are maintaining a slow pace of layoffs, according to government data released Thursday.

A reading of manufacturing sentiment in the Philadelphia region improved in April, according to data released Thursday, contradicting a disappointing regional index from the New York Fed released earlier in the week.

Google, IBM sink after disappointing results, Goldman, Morgan Stanley rise

Shares of IBM Corp. (IBM) dropped 3% after the tech bellwether late Wednesday reported an eighth straight quarter of revenue declines and missed analyst expectations.

Google Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL) dropped 3% after a disappointing earnings report published late Wednesday.

American Express Co.(AXP) fell 1.3% after it reported quarterly revenue that missed expectations late Wednesday.

Banking giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) was nearly unchanged after it reported fall in first-quarter earnings, which nonetheless were above expectations.

Morgan Stanley (MS) rose 3.4% after its profit topped estimates.

General Electric Co. (GE) said it made an adjusted 33 cents a share in the first quarter, slightly beating FactSet estimates of 32 cents a share. Shares gained 2.1%.

UnitedHealth Group Inc.(UNH) slid 3.3% after its earnings beat expectations, but revenue missed.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) shares fell 2.5%, after initially rising as much as 4% following the release of results. The fast-food restaurant chain's first-quarter profit and revenue surged, largely attributed to a 13.4% jump in same-store sales.

Shares of Sabre (SABR), the travel-tech firm which owns the Travelocity website, rose 3.9% to $16.63 on debut.

Weibo (WB), China's microblog equivalent of Twitter, surged 21% to $20.75 on the first day of trading.

In other financial markets, European stocks traded mostly lower amid escalating tensions in Ukraine after three pro-Russia activists were killed and 13 wounded in fighting. Asia markets closed mostly higher. Gold prices edged lower, while oil prices were little changed.

More must-reads from MarketWatch:

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