NEW YORK, June 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday, as investors digested a batch of mixed data.
Meanwhile, Wall Street has been encouraged by U.S. Federal Reserve's dovish messages, which fueled investors' bets on potential rate cuts later this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 249.17 points, or 0.94 percent, to 26,753.17. The S&P 500 was up 27.72 points, or 0.95 percent, to 2,954.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 64.02 points, or 0.80 percent, to 8,051.34.
Shares of Oracle rose 8.18 percent, after the California-based software company reported first-quarter earnings that beat market expectations.
Shares of Tesla fell 3.01 percent, as Goldman Sachs revised its price target on the electric vehicle producer's stock down to 158 U.S. dollars per share, due to concerns over sustainable demand.
All of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher around market close, with the energy sector up 2.40 percent, leading the gainers.
On the economic front, U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday reported weakening regional manufacturing conditions in June.
The diffusion index for current general activity decreased from 16.6 in May to 0.3 this month. This is the lowest reading since February, when the index fell below zero for one month, according to its June Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey.
U.S. jobless claims, a key metric to gauge unemployment, fell and approached close to the lowest level in decades, indicating a strong U.S. labor market.
The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits 216,000 for the week ending June 15, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Wall Street has been lifted by the Fed's loosening stance on monetary policy after a two-day meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
The Fed maintained federal funds rate steady at 2.25 to 2.5 percent, yet saying it would act as appropriate to sustain expansion. Enditem
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