Stocks rose on Thursday amid a new round of earnings reports along with 2Q GDP and weekly employment data. Investors also continued to assess the Fed's probable timeline for tapering its bond-buying program. The Commerce Department said that the U.S. economy expanded at a 6.5% annualized rate in 2Q, up from the prior quarter but well below the consensus forecast of 8.4%. On the employment front, first-time jobless claims fell to 400,000 for the week ended July 24, but exceeded the consensus of 380,000. Continuing claims rose slightly to