Wall Street bounces ahead of jobs data

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(Closed): Wall Street markets rose on Thursday as investors prepared for the release of a slew of economic data on Friday, including monthly jobs figures.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 47.87 points to 17,837.54.

The S&P 500 index was up 5.83 points, to 2,105.16, while the tech-focused Nasdaq gained 19.11 points to 4,971.36.

Energy stocks took a dip after a meeting between large oil producing nations failed to reach an agreement to curb production.

The price of crude oil remained mostly flat though following a report that US stockpiles of crude oil were shrinking.

ExxonMobil shares were down 0.8%. Chevron was 0.6% lower.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson climbed 1.5% after announcing plans to buy hair care product maker Vogue International.

Software giant Oracle fell 4% after a former employee filed a lawsuit alleging she was instructed to alter the company's sales figures.

Apple shares fell 0.8% after Goldman Sachs cut its price target for the company due to an expected decline in smartphone sales.