LONDON (ShareCast) - US stocks gained as investors weighed better-than-expected earnings and US data.
A report showed US housing starts rose 6.3% in September following a 12.8% drop a month earlier. Analysts had pencilled in a 5.4% increase.

The University of Michigan's consumer confidence index rose to 86.4 in October, higher than the 84 consensus forecast and in line with the previous month's reading.

In a boost to markets earlier on, St. Louis Fed Bank President James Bullard said the central bank should consider extending its bond-buying beyond the expected end-date of October following a recent drop in inflation expectations. He also told Bloomberg News that US economic fundamentals remain strong.

His remarks on Thursday helped US equities following heavy selling in shares a day earlier on the back of global economic concerns including falling oil prices, Ebola and low inflation in the Eurozone.

Morgan Stanley, Google

Morgan Stanley gained after reported third quarter earnings the beat market estimates.

Google advanced as the search engine fell short of profit and revenue estimates for the third quarter.

GE rallied after the company's third-quarter profit surpassed analysts' forecasts, on the back of cost cutting.

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