Stocks rose on Thursday morning as investors awaited the November employment report on Friday. Weekly unemployment claims were largely in line with expectations. The Labor Department said that first-time claims rose by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 220,000 for the week ended December 2, slightly below the Reuters consensus forecast of 222,000. Continuing claims fell by 64,000 to 1.861 million. Meanwhile, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said that U.S. employers announced 45,510 layoffs in November, up 24% from O