U.S. stocks ended a very choppy session mixed on Thursday, after Germany took a key step in helping the debt-burdened Greece and a batch of economic data came in better than expected.
Thursday's trading was volatile. The market first got a boost and opened sharply higher after Germany's parliament approved legislation to expand the euro zone's rescue fund, known as the European Financial Stability Facility, by a wide margin. Although the result was well expected, investors were still happy to see the final passage as it showed European countries were taking some meaningful measures to stem the crisis.
Adding to the gains, data showed fewer people applied jobless benefits last week, a positive sign for the fragile jobs market. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits fell by 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 391, 000 last week, the lowest level in nearly six months, but government said the surprising decline was mainly because of some seasonal reasons.
Meanwhile, the revised U.S. GDP growth in the second quarter was 1.3 percent, beating previous expectations.
However, gains were trimmed as trading proceeded. Both the blue- chip Dow and the broader S&P 500 slipped into negative territory before rebounding in the final hour, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq traded lower in most of the session after a strong open.
As of Thursday's close, The Dow Jones industrial average gained 143.08 points, or 1.30 percent, to 11,153.98. The Standard & Poor' s 500 jumped 9.34 points, or 0.81 percent, to 1,160.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 10.82 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2, 480.76.
