US stocks jumped on Thursday as an upbeat outlook from PayPal and a surprise rise in Chinese exports raised hopes of a faster economic recovery from what is expected to be a deep coronavirus-led recession.
The payments processor rose 13.3%, providing the biggest boost to the S&P 500 after it forecast a strong recovery in payments volumes in the second quarter as social distancing drives more people to shop online.
Its shares helped the technology index rise 1.7%, while larger peer Visa Inc gained 3.2%. Lyft Inc surged 23.1% as the ride-hailing company posted higher-than-expected revenue and vowed to further cut costs to be profitable. Rival Uber Technologies, which is expected to report results after markets close, gained 7%.
Latest data showed 3.17 million Americans applied for state unemployment benefits last week, but the number marked the fifth straight weekly decline in applications. The more comprehensive nonfarm payroll report is due on Friday.
Energy stocks rose 3.7%, the most among 11 major sectors, on optimism around future oil demand after China's overseas shipments in April rose for the first time this year as factories raced to make up for lost sales.
At 11:20 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 325.75 points, or 1.38%, at 23,990.39, the S&P 500 was up 41.38 points, or 1.45%, at 2,889.80. The Nasdaq Composite was up 116.44 points, or 1.32%, at 8,970.83.
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