The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 506.50 points, or 1.48 percent, to 34,764.82. The S&P 500 rose 53.34 points, or 1.21 percent, to 4,448.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 155.40 points, or 1.04 percent, to 15,052.24.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with energy up 3.41 percent, outpacing the rest. The real estate and the utilities groups, however, struggled.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher with nine 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 moves followed an upbeat session which saw the Dow close up more than 300 points.
The market momentum came despite data that showed the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits increased last week.
U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, registered 351,000 in the week ending Sept. 18, following an upwardly revised level of 335,000 in the prior week, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday. The reading topped market estimates of 320,000.
Investors continued to digest the latest statement from the Federal Reserve.
The U.S. central bank on Wednesday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record-low level of near zero, while signaling that it may begin tapering asset purchases soon despite the Delta variant increasing economic uncertainty.
Despite recent rallies, U.S. equities have experienced bouts of volatility in September, amid various headwinds. As of Thursday's close, all the three major indexes suffered losses for their month-to-date returns.
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