The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 318.19 points, or 0.93 percent, to 34,548.53, notching a new record close. The S&P 500 added 34.03 points, or 0.82 percent, to 4,201.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 50.42 points, or 0.37 percent, to 13,632.84.
All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with financials up 1.43 percent, leading the gains.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded flat with five of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.
The above market moves came after data showed first-time claims for unemployment insurance in the United States fell below the 500,000 level last week, a fresh pandemic-era low.
U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, stood at 498,000 in the week ending May 1, a decrease of 92,000 from the prior week's revised level, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal had forecast new claims to total a seasonally adjusted 527,000.
The April U.S. jobs report is set to be released on Friday.
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