WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the downturn seen late in the previous session, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Thursday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher, offsetting recent losses and turning positive for the week.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new highs for the session late in the day before giving back ground going into the close. The Nasdaq surged 439.87 points or 1.7 percent to 26,418.30 and the S&P 500 jumped 85.95 points or 1.1 percent to 7,637.76.
The narrower Dow posted a more modest gain after falling sharply on Wednesday, climbing 316.14 points or 0.6 percent to 51,778.04.
Stocks surged early in the session amid an extended pullback by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures tumbling by as much as 3.3 percent.
U.S. crude oil futures also plunged by more than 3 percent on Wednesday amid optimism about the steps Saudi Arabia is taking to avoid supply disruptions after the closure of its key East-West pipeline.
After dropping below $100 a barrel in early trading, the price of crude oil has regained ground since then but is still down by more than 1 percent.
Stocks remained sharply higher even as crude oil prices rebounded, as traders shrugged off yesterday's widely expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
While Fed officials' projections pointed to at least one more rate hike before the end of the year, traders may have felt yesterday's reaction was overdone.
Treasury yields have moved to the downside along with crude oil prices, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note slumping after ending the previous session roughly flat.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed an unexpected decline in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 12th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 196,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 206,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 208,000.
Sector News
Computer hardware stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index soaring by 4.4 percent.
Semiconductor and biotechnology stocks also saw substantial strength, contributing to the surge by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Gold stocks also showed a significant move to the upside, resulting in a 3.5 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Airline, networking and pharmaceutical stocks also turned in strong performances, while telecom stocks came under pressure over the course of the session.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 1.2 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved notably higher following the pullback seen late in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slumped 5.9 basis points to 4.947 percent.
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