NEW YORK : U.S. stocks followed their European counterparts higher on Thursday as investors parsed an array of mixed quarterly earnings and digested a series of robust economic reports. All three major U.S. stock indexes advanced in early trading and the dollar built on recent gains after a report from the Commerce Department showed stronger-than-expected retail sales, and the Labor Department's initial jobless claims data landed below economists' estimates. The S&P 500 and the Dow continue to