US stocks rose on Thursday as appetite for riskier assets returned after a pledge by European leaders to support debt-ridden Greece eased fears of a possible sovereign default. Initially stocks had wavered in choppy trade due to a lack of specifics on the European Union's proposals.
By midday Wall Street mounted a sharp advance as investors saw the EU pledge as a bid to avert fallout from fiscal troubles in Greece and other members of the European single currency like Portugal and Spain. Data pointing to stabilisation in the US labour market gave the market a further boost, along with a broker upgrade of bellwether 3M Co, whose stock shot up 1.6 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 96.66 points, or 0.96 percent, to 10,135.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 8.90 points, or 0.83 percent, to 1,077.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 27.42 points, or 1.28 percent, to 2,175.29. Standouts included shares of energy, technology and natural resource companies. Caterpillar Inc, another big manufacturer, rose 5.2 percent to $55.94 and ranked as a top boost to the Dow industrials.
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