After opening mostly lower, the market headed into positive territory in the final hour of trade, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 44.51 points (0.44 percent) to finish at 10,611.84.

The Nasdaq composite rose 9.51 points (0.40 percent) to 2,368.46 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 4.63 points (0.40 percent) to 1,150.24.

Earlier, stocks were weak on a disappointing unemployment report and Chinese inflation data that heightened concerns about Beijing's efforts to cool its red-hot economy.

Analysts at Charles Schwab & Co. said the markets were concerned after stronger-than-expected economic data out of China "sparked some fears that the government could rein in stimulus measures and threaten the global recovery."

The fears "were exacerbated by the (U.S.) weekly initial jobless claims report," the analysts said in a client note.

Chinese consumer prices rose for the fourth month running in February while new lending slowed sharply, official data showed Thursday as the government campaigns to tame inflation in the booming economy.

Al Goldman at Wells Fargo Advisors said the market was proving resilient.

"The market continues to act very well into the face of a myriad of concerns and potential stumbling blocks," he said.

Before the opening bell, the U.S. government said 462,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ending March 6, slightly higher than analysts' consensus forecast.

The government also reported the U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in January as imports and exports declined and overall volume fell for the first time in five months.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit shrank to a seasonally adjusted US$37.3 billion, down from a revised US$39.9 billion in December.

The decline surprised Wall Street analysts who had expected the trade gap would widen to US$41.0 billion.

Citigroup chief executive Pandit, brought in to turn around the ailing bank that was rescued by the government, was upbeat at an analysts conference in New York.

"We are well-positioned to return to sustained profitability," he said, sending shares up 5.56 percent to US$4.18. Citi has climbed nearly 30 percent since the beginning of the month.