US stocks soar on positive data, Fed minutes

U.S. stocks rose sharply Thursday, extending the strong rebound from previous session, as improvements in the labor market and a patient Federal Reserve helped Wall Street recover from sharp selloffs at the beginning of the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 323.35 points, or 1.84 percent, to 17,907.87. The S&P 500 advanced 36.24 points, or 1.79 percent, to 2,062.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 85.72 points, or 1.84 percent, to 4,736.19.

On the economic front, the number of Americans who initially applied for jobless benefits in the week ending Jan. 3 slipped 4, 000 to a seasonally adjusted 294,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

The fresh figure came a day after payroll processor ADP's upbeat jobs report, which showed U.S. private sector employment added 241,000 new jobs in December, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Moreover, investors embraced the minutes of the Federal Reserve 's December policy meeting released Wednesday, which showed most participants believed "patience" in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy indicated that the U.S. central bank was unlikely to start the normalization process for at least the next couple of meetings.

Dovish remarks from Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans late Wednesday added optimism to the market. Evans said "I don't think we should be in a hurry to increase interest rates."

The market was also encouraged by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who said Thursday that the central bank was ready to start full-blown quantitative easing.

Overseas, European stocks surged to close almost 3 percent higher on Draghi's comments. In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei index gained 1.67 percent while China's Shanghai Composite index tumbled 2.39 percent on profit-taking.

In corporate news, shares of Apple, the heavyweight of Nasdaq, spiked 3.84 percent to 111.89 dollars apiece after the company announced that its app billing rose 50 percent in 2014.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks rose sharply, with the S&P 500 snapping a five-day losing streak, as U.S. crude prices steadied somewhat and positive economic data underscored the strength in the U.S. economy.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, dropped 11.91 percent to end at 17.01 Thursday.

In other markets, oil prices changed little Thursday amid growing supplies globally.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery gained 14 cents to settle at 48.79 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery decreased 19 cents to close at 50.96 dollars a barrel.

The U.S. dollar climbed against most major currencies on Thursday as jobs data from the country turned out better than expected.

In late New York trading, the euro dropped to 1.1784 dollars from 1.1848 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 119.67 Japanese yen, higher than 119.01 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell for a second session on Thursday as the U.S. dollar and equities continued advancing, pushing investors away from gold.

The most active gold contract for February delivery dipped 2.2 dollars, or 0.18 percent, to settle at 1,208.50 dollars per ounce.