Wall Street shares rallied on Thursday as the market shook off news of a jump in new US jobless claims to a 26-year high and awaited action in the Senate on a huge economic stimulus plan.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 106.41 points (1.34 percent) to close at 8,063.07, reversing opening losses.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 31.19 points (2.06 percent) to 1,546.24 and the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index climbed 13.62 points (1.64 percent) to end at 845.85.
Action came after data showed initial claims for US unemployment benefits surged to 626,000 last week, the highest level since October 1982, heightening fears about the length of the economic slump.
The market shook off a weak start and swung higher in late trade, in contrast to market action on Wednesday that saw a fizzled rally. The gains came as the Senate moved closer to passage of an economic stimulus worth some 900 billion dollars.
"After a rocky start, stocks rallied during the session on news of potential progress in plans to shore up the banking system, potentially making changes to the mark-to-market rules that have precipitated large write-downs in bank assets, and pass a fiscal stimulus plan," said analysts at Charles Schwab & Co.
John Ogg at 24/7 Wall Street said Bank of America led the finance sector higher after regulatory filings showed "that key company insiders are buying up stock."
Bank of America rose 2.98 percent to 4.84 dollars, while rival JPMorgan Chase added 2.08 percent to 24.54.
Andrea Kramer at Schaeffer's Investment Research said "investors celebrated stronger-than-expected January sales from retail titan Wal-Mart Stores. Also bolstering sentiment were credit card concerns Visa and MasterCard, both toppling analysts' earnings predictions."
Wal-Mart climbed 4.61 percent to 48.56 dollars while fellow retailer Target gained 3.03 percent to 32.29 dollars.
Visa surged 9.38 percent to 53.74 dollars after reporting a 35-percent profit rise in its most recent quarter. MasterCard surged 14.05 percent to 159.84 dollars after the other major credit card giant topped profit expectations.
The market also was closely watching progress in Congress on a stimulus plan worth more than 900 billion dollars to revive the plunging economy, with senators set to vote on the measure amid criticism that it was filled with pet projects, or "pork."
Al Goldman at Wachovia Securities said investors were worried but hoped for passage of a plan.
"We need relief now," he said. "The media and voter blitz against the current stimulus program could result in one that is smaller, has less pork, and more tax cuts. The people have spoken - maybe the politicians will listen."
Among other stocks in focus, Cisco Systems shook off early weakness and rose 3.16 percent to 16.35 dollars after the computer networking giant beat profit guidance for its most recent quarter but offered an outlook that troubled investors.
Kellogg rose 0.25 percent to 43.68 as the cereal maker reported better-than-expected earnings.
Bonds rebounded. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond eased to 2.900 percent from 2.914 percent on Wednesday and that on the 30-year bond fell to 3.634 percent from 3.673 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 106.41 points (1.34 percent) to close at 8,063.07, reversing opening losses.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 31.19 points (2.06 percent) to 1,546.24 and the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index climbed 13.62 points (1.64 percent) to end at 845.85.
Action came after data showed initial claims for US unemployment benefits surged to 626,000 last week, the highest level since October 1982, heightening fears about the length of the economic slump.
The market shook off a weak start and swung higher in late trade, in contrast to market action on Wednesday that saw a fizzled rally. The gains came as the Senate moved closer to passage of an economic stimulus worth some 900 billion dollars.
"After a rocky start, stocks rallied during the session on news of potential progress in plans to shore up the banking system, potentially making changes to the mark-to-market rules that have precipitated large write-downs in bank assets, and pass a fiscal stimulus plan," said analysts at Charles Schwab & Co.
John Ogg at 24/7 Wall Street said Bank of America led the finance sector higher after regulatory filings showed "that key company insiders are buying up stock."
Bank of America rose 2.98 percent to 4.84 dollars, while rival JPMorgan Chase added 2.08 percent to 24.54.
Andrea Kramer at Schaeffer's Investment Research said "investors celebrated stronger-than-expected January sales from retail titan Wal-Mart Stores. Also bolstering sentiment were credit card concerns Visa and MasterCard, both toppling analysts' earnings predictions."
Wal-Mart climbed 4.61 percent to 48.56 dollars while fellow retailer Target gained 3.03 percent to 32.29 dollars.
Visa surged 9.38 percent to 53.74 dollars after reporting a 35-percent profit rise in its most recent quarter. MasterCard surged 14.05 percent to 159.84 dollars after the other major credit card giant topped profit expectations.
The market also was closely watching progress in Congress on a stimulus plan worth more than 900 billion dollars to revive the plunging economy, with senators set to vote on the measure amid criticism that it was filled with pet projects, or "pork."
Al Goldman at Wachovia Securities said investors were worried but hoped for passage of a plan.
"We need relief now," he said. "The media and voter blitz against the current stimulus program could result in one that is smaller, has less pork, and more tax cuts. The people have spoken - maybe the politicians will listen."
Among other stocks in focus, Cisco Systems shook off early weakness and rose 3.16 percent to 16.35 dollars after the computer networking giant beat profit guidance for its most recent quarter but offered an outlook that troubled investors.
Kellogg rose 0.25 percent to 43.68 as the cereal maker reported better-than-expected earnings.
Bonds rebounded. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond eased to 2.900 percent from 2.914 percent on Wednesday and that on the 30-year bond fell to 3.634 percent from 3.673 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
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