NEW YORK (AP) -- Auto industry stocks jumped Thursday on a report that bankrupt auto-parts supplier Delphi Corp. and automaker General Motors Corp. may be one step closer to a deal with a labor union.

Citing sources familiar with the negotiations, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Delphi and GM are nearing agreement on the broad points of a potential deal with the United Auto Workers union.

Investors cheered the news, and GM shares jumped 88 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $21.30 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, shares of Ford Motor Co. added 21 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $7.76 and DaimlerChrysler AG shares edged up $1.12, or 2.1 percent, to $55.44 on the Big Board.

Over-the-counter shares of Delphi gained a penny to 33 cents.

Industrywide, stocks moved higher, with auto suppliers also making headway in midday trading.

David Healy, a research analyst with investment firm Burnham Securities Inc., said if GM and Delphi can work through complicated issues for a deal, there is a greater chance that other automakers and suppliers could strike similar agreements. "If the market is assuming that GM and Delphi can settle with the UAW, then the UAW can make concessions with Ford," he said in an interview, adding that "if Delphi can get an agreement, it may bode well for these bankrupt parts suppliers and semi-bankrupt suppliers, as well."

Parts supplier Johnson Controls Inc. saw its shares rise 53 cents to $72.53, while Lear Corp. shares added 47 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $18.35 on the New York Stock Exchange. Visteon Corp. shares rose 19 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $4.60.

The WSJ report noted that union leaders have called on local officials at Delphi plants nationwide to come to Detroit next week. The potential agreement could include buyouts of thousands of older workers, the report said. However, the UAW denied the report on its Web site, saying "the parties are not close to working out such an agreement. There are many, many significant issues to be resolved."