(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks rallied on Thursday as upbeat economic data and better-than-expected revenue forecast from Cisco bolstered investor confidence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 203.82 points or 2.08% to finish at 10,005.96. The S&P 500 gained 20.13 points or 1.92% to end at 1,066.63. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 49.80 points or 2.42% to 2,105.32.
A release by Department of Labor on Thursday showed number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits fell 20,000 to 512,00 in the week ending October 31. Economists expected jobless claims to drop to 522,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims, a less volatile gauge, decreased 3,000 to 523,750. Continuing claims for the week ending October 24 dropped 68,000 to 5.75 million.
Also, the Labor Department reported that third-quarter non-farm productivity jumped 9.5% after rising 6.6% in the prior quarter. Economists expected productivity to decline 6.5%.
Shares of financials rallied. American Express Co. (NYSE:
AXP) jumped $1.78 or 4.95% to $37.74. JP Morgan & Chase & Co. (NYSE:
JPM) surged $1.66 or 3.93% to $43.87. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:
BAC) climbed 43 cents or 2.93% to $15.13. .
Shares of Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:
AA), the largest US aluminum maker, rose 38 cents or 3.04% to $12.89. .
Equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:
CAT) gained $1.77 or 3.15% to $57.99.
Shares of airplane maker Boeing Co. (NYSE:
BA) increase $1.70 or 3.54% to close at $49.77.
Chemical maker DuPont Co.
