In New York, stocks moved solidly higher Thursday as positive domestic economic data comforted investors nervous about Greece’s ability to secure a second bailout.

The Dow Jones Industrials gained 123.13 points, or 1% to end the session at 12,904.10

The S&P 500 gathered 14.67 points to 1,357.90, while the tech-focused Nasdaq accelerated 44.02 points to 2,959.85

Both unemployment figures and housing numbers released ahead of the market’s open continue to paint a picture of a U.S. economy on the verge of a comeback.

Such economic numbers helped investors look beyond more negative signs from Europe. Moody’s put 17 global banks and 114 European financial institutions on review for possible downgrades.

Nine of the global banks put on review by Moody’s are headquartered in Europe, the agency said.

Moody’s added that Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS, as well as New York-based Morgan Stanley, could see their long-term ratings slashed by up to three notches.

U.S.-based Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America were also put on watch. By afternoon trading, these banks moved up more than 1%, after initially falling by more than 1%.

General Motors posted a record $7.6-billion U.S. net profit for 2011, making it the first year since 2004 that all Big Three automakers — GM, Ford and Chrysler — were profitable.

DirectTV beat earnings and sales estimates during the fourth quarter, with particular strength coming from the company’s presence in Latin America. DirectTV also announced a $6-billion U.S. stock buyback program.

Nvidia’s stock tumbled a day after the company first-quarter revenue forecast fell short of Wall Street’s estimate.

Shares of J.M. Smucker slid after the maker of Jif peanut butter and Folgers coffee posted a 11% drop in its fiscal third-quarter profit that was also below expectations.

Shares of Amazon were down after Apple asked the e-commerce company to halt sales of the iPad in China. The move came after Apple lost a trademark dispute over the “iPad” name in Chinese courts.

Meanwhile, uncertainty remains over Greece and its efforts to secure much-needed additional bailout funds. European finance ministers delayed a decision on the bailout Wednesday, as they continue to evaluate a proposed austerity program from Athens.

The Eurogroup meets again Monday and indicated it would likely give its approval for the latest economic reform proposal, which Greece needs in order to secure bailout funds and avoid defaulting on a 14.5-billion euro bond redemption in March.

On the economic ledger, initial unemployment claims for the week ended February 11 fell to 348,000 — down 13,000 from the week prior, the U.S. Labor Department said.

Economists were expecting 365,000 claims, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com.

Housing starts for January rose 1.5% to 699,000, according to the Commerce Department. Building permits rose 0.7% to 676,000 in January. Both totals were higher than expected.

Wholesale inflation, in the form of the Producer Price Index for January, rose 0.1%, following a decline of 0.3% the month prior. The index was expected to have increased by 0.3% last month.

Treasury prices for the 10-year note lost ground, lifting yields to 1.99% from Wednesday’s 1.93%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for February delivery gained 36 cents to $102.28 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery moved up five cents to $1,726.80 U.S. an ounce