Rising hopes for global economic growth sparked a jump in stocks and other risky investments Thursday, putting the Dow Jones Industrial Average back above 10,000 for the first time in a week.
The blue-chip measure traded with a hefty gain throughout Thursday’s session, helped by upbeat comments from the European Central Bank and strong economic data from the U.S. and China. The average gained momentum as the closing bell neared and ended with a 273.35-point gain, up 2.8 percent, at 10,172.60, the biggest one-day rise since May 27.
The euro strengthened against the dollar after the ECB boosted its growth forecast for this year, helping to push up investors’ appetite for riskier investments, including in small-cap stocks, commodities, and energy stocks. Materials and industrials, heavily exposed to global demand prospects, also gained.
After weeks of volatility in the broader stock market driven primarily by worries about European sovereign debt, some participants said they were adjusting to the constant patter of bleak headlines from the continent.
The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.8 percent. The S&P 500 leapt 3 percent, led by a 4.9 percent gain in its energy sector, which benefited from a third straight gain in oil prices.
Traders’ outlook for crude demand was boosted Thursday by the decline in U.S. jobless claims, an increase in the Energy Information Administration’s forecast of global oil demand for 2010, and data showing strong oil imports by China in May.
Oil futures gained 1.5 percent to settle at 75.48 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 5.7 percent over the recent three-day streak. But traders cautioned that the rally could soon run out of momentum as the commodity approaches $80.
Shares of Anadarko Petroleum rose 12.4 percent. Baker Hughes rose 10.7 percent and Diamond Offshore Drilling was up 7.4 percent. American depositary shares of BP jumped 12.3 percent after plunging nearly 16 percent on Wednesday.
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