WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After advancing early in the session, stocks saw further upside over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages all moved sharply higher on the day, extending the rebound seen in the previous session.
The major averages gave back some ground going into the end of the day but remained firmly positive. The Dow jumped 624.16 points or 1.2 percent to 53,686.11, the Nasdaq surged 366.23 points or 1.4 percent to 26,584.06 and the S&P 500 shot up 81.11 points or 1.1 percent to 7,747.71.
The rally on Wall Street partly reflected easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates, as CME Group's FedWatch Tool showed a notable decrease in the likelihood of a rate hike later this month.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently suggests there is still a 50.4 percent chance the Fed will raise rates by a quarter point, but that is down from 63.2 percent on Wednesday.
The decrease came after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated in an interview with Reuters that he is leaning towards keeping rates unchanged at the upcoming meeting.
Waller said he would be 'inclined to support' leaving rates unchanged if the data due over the next two weeks continues to show 'some signs of disinflation.'
The Fed Governor's remarks contributed to a pullback by treasury yields, which also benefited stocks.
Traders were also looking ahead to Friday's closely watched monthly employment report for August, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.
Economists currently expect employment to climb by 55,000 jobs in August after dipping by 23,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent.
'Weaker labor-market figures could strengthen the argument for patience, while resilience in employment alongside sticky inflation would make the hawkish case increasingly difficult to dismiss,' said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.
She added, 'Investors have been remarkably resilient so far, but that resilience is likely to be tested if oil, yields and expectations for Fed tightening begin moving higher simultaneously.'
Sector News
Gold stocks moved sharply higher along with the price of the precious metal, resulting in a 3.8 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Substantial strength was also visible among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 3.5 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index.
Software stocks also showed a significant move to the upside, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index up by 3.2 percent.
Snowflake (SNOW) helped lead the sector higher, soaring by 16.6 percent after reporting better than expected fiscal second quarter results and providing upbeat guidance.
Computer hardware and banking stocks also saw considerable strength, while oil service stocks showed a notable move to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index closed marginally higher and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved higher after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 3.4 basis points to 4.762 percent.
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