NEW YORK, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher on Thursday with seven of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

Shares of NetEase and Alibaba Group rose 5.31 percent and 2.52 percent, respectively, leading the gainers in the top 10 stocks of the index.

Shares of TAL Education Group and New Oriental Education & Technology Group declined 3.49 percent and 1.10 percent, respectively, leading the laggards in the top 10 stocks of the index.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday underpinned by rallying Apple shares as investors digested a slew of economic data amid hopes for U.S.-China trade talks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 147.07 points, or 0.57 percent, to 26,145.99. The S&P 500 advanced 15.26 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,904.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 59.48 points, or 0.75 percent, to 8,013.71.

The Cboe Volatility index, widely considered the best fear gauge in the stock market, decreased 5.86 percent to 12.37 on Thursday.

As of Wednesday, the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index stood at 2,670.03, marking a 8.10-percent decrease for the month-to-date returns and a 13.62-percent loss for the year-to-date returns. Enditem