NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks finished higher for a third straight session on Thursday (July 22), edging up following a round of mostly good earnings and mixed economic data.

A busy day of results featured companies from across the economy, with Railroad Union Pacific reporting a 30 per cent rise in revenues, while Domino's Pizza notched higher comparable stores sales despite a tough comparison with the year-ago period when pizza orders soared during pandemic lockdowns.

Both American Airlines and Southwest Airlines reported quarterly profits in the latest sign of an industry recovery.

Most of companies reporting scored "positive earnings surprises," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare, adding that "the good earnings news cut across industry groups and sectors."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.1 per cent at 34,823.35.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent to 4,367.48, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4 per cent to 14,684.60.

Stocks have now rallied the last three days after tumbling on Monday on worries about the Delta variant.

New applications for US unemployment benefits saw a surprise uptick last week, climbing to 419,000, an increase of 51,000 over the previous week.

But sales of existing homes rose higher in the United States last month, snapping a four-month streak of declines.

Prices jumped to a new record, with the median home price hitting US$363,300 (S$493,000), more than 23 per cent higher than a year ago, the National Association of Realtors said.

Among other companies reporting results, Texas Instruments suffered a drop of 5.3 per cent due to disappointment over the chip company's forecast.