The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 239.79 points, or 0.68 percent, to 35,730.48. The S&P 500 was up 44.74 points, or 0.98 percent, to 4,596.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 212.28 points, or 1.39 percent, to 15,448.12.
All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with real estate and consumer discretionary up 1.47 percent and 1.37 percent, respectively, leading the gains.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher with six of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.
Apple reported its fiscal fourth quarter results after the closing bell on Thursday, missing analysts' expectations on revenue, and its executives warned of ongoing supply-chain problems. The stock slid more than 3 percent in after-hours trading.
Amazon shares dropped more than 4 percent in extended trading after the company reported third-quarter results on Thursday, missing on the top and bottom lines.
On the economic data, U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that U.S. GDP rose only 2 percent in the third quarter, down from 6.7 percent growth in the second quarter.
U.S. Department of Labor said U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, stood at 281,000 for the week ending Oct. 23, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level of 291,000. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had predicted new claims would decline to a seasonally adjusted 289,000.
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