US STOCKS-Tech and materials sectors buoy Wall St

(Updates to midday. changes byline)

By Cal Mankowski

NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as technology shares rebounded from a decline in the previous session and higher metals prices lifted materials stocks.

Another boost for the market was data showing the number of U.S. workers filing claims for initial jobless benefits fell more than expected last week.

Merrill Lynch's chief investment strategist, Richard Bernstein, told CNBC that some of the bigger capitalization tech stocks offer good values and are under owned. Intel Corp (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 1 percent to $23.43 and Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 1.3 percent to $185.00.

U.S. gold futures climbed 1 percent. Shares of materials companies advanced, with Dow component and aluminum company Alcoa Inc (AA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) up 3.4 percent at $39.40.

Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), down 2.2 percent at $46.20, ranked among the major decliners in the financial sector after U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said on Wednesday that investment banks will face more scrutiny over their liquidity and capital positions. For details, see [ID:nN07565098].

Peter Jankovskis, director of research at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois, said the jobless figures helped to support the market.

"The unemployment claims came in lower than expected, which is obviously good news from the standpoint of consumer spending and the labor market," he said.