Mild economic data gave Wall Street a moderate gain Thursday as stocks survived a round of profit-taking ahead of the Labor Department's June employment report. A favorable court ruling for Altria Group Inc. lifted the Dow Jones industrials.

The market got an initial boost from economic and retail-sales data that fed optimism about an end to the Federal Reserve's string of interest-rate hikes. But traders also were looking ahead to today's employment report -- widely seen as a key indicator of the economy's health -- prompting some to hedge their bets and lock in profits.

Elsewhere, Altria and other cigarette makers rallied after the Florida Supreme Court dropped a $145 billion verdict against tobacco companies, saying the award was excessive. Altria surged $4.43 to $77.76; Reynolds American Inc. jumped $4.59 to $118.95.