(Reuters) - Stocks rose on Thursday after a mixed batch of data found the market at oversold levels after worries about Greece's escalating debt crisis spurred a sell-off in the previous session.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 52.45 points, or 0.44 percent, to 11,949.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 5.06 points, or 0.40 percent, to 1,270.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXICadded 5.05 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,636.51.

The number of Americans signing up for jobless benefits fell last week, while housing starts and building permits rose in May, offering some hope the economy could be starting to pull out of its soft patch.

Still, factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region unexpectedly shrank in June in another sign of weakness in the manufacturing sector.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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