US stocks surged for a second day on Thursday, after equities snapped a five-session streak of losses in the prior session, on expectations for continued acceleration in the US economy and more aggressive action by the European Central Bank. The advance was broad, with 9 of the 10 major S&P sectors gaining at least 1 percent.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits were slightly above expectations but slipped by 4,000 from the prior week, pointing to a firming labour market, ahead of the monthly payrolls report on Friday. "What has occurred the past couple of days is that the market has focused back on what are still good fundamentals for equities. There is a Fed that is going to be patient and pretty transparent on when they are going to raise rates and an economy that is doing pretty well," said Sean Lynch, co-head of global equity strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute in Omaha.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 266.51 points, or 1.52 percent, to 17,851.03, the S&P 500 gained 29.81 points, or 1.47 percent, to 2,055.71 and the Nasdaq Composite added 74.15 points, or 1.59 percent, to 4,724.61. The benchmark index has gained 2.7 percent over the past two days, with the advance pushing the S&P back above its 50-day average, a technical support level it fell below on January 5.