Stocks rose Thursday as investors evaluated the latest corporate earnings that came in better than previously feared.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 238.85 points at 34,187.86.
The S&P 500 increased 29.35 points to 4,147.21.
The NASDAQ Composite 126.6 points, or 1%, to 12,037.12.
Disney shares gained more than 4% after the company posted smaller-than-expected subscriber losses along with earnings and revenue that beat estimates. PepsiCo advanced more than 2% on the back of fourth-quarter earnings that came in above Wall Street expectations.
Investors have been watching earnings season closely for insight on how companies have fared amid high inflation and how they expect to perform going forward. But despite the latest batch of company reports, Wall Street has considered this earnings season lackluster.
So far, 66% of S&P 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter earnings. Of those companies, nearly 70% have beaten analyst expectations, FactSet data shows. That beat rate is below a three-year average of 79%.
PayPal, Lyft and Expedia will report after the market closes.
The number of weekly jobless claims reported Thursday jumped by 13,000 to 196,000, which is more than expected and ran contrary to a recent string of job data indicating the labor market remained stubbornly hot. Treasury yields fell after the data as investors bet that maybe the job market would cool enough for the Fed to slow its hiking campaign further.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury galloped, lowering yields to 3.59% from Wednesday's 3.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 80 cents to $77.67 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were ahead $1.70 to $1,892.40 U.S. an ounce.