Wall Street ends stronger as global debt worries fade

[WASHINGTON] US stocks ended higher on Thursday, helped by a jump in tech stocks and a reversal in surging global interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 82.08 points, or 0.46 per cent, to end at 17,924.06. The S&P 500 gained 7.85 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 2,088 and the Nasdaq Composite added 25.90 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 4,945.54.

Strong quarterly results from Alibaba as well as speculation that consumer review website Yelp.com could be for sale drove technology stocks higher, with the S&P tech index up 0.87 per cent.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits held near a 15-year low last week, suggesting positive momentum in the economy, but not so much as to change expectations for a September interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

A recent run-up in global interest rates that has worried Wall Street also showed signs of stabilizing, while a rally in oil prices snapped. "That drastic, draconian move in bonds and violent updraft in oil are settling a little bit and that's helping us focus on stocks," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.

Investors are looking ahead to an April payroll report on Friday that will offer a fresh indication of the economy's health and could potentially affect when the Fed raises interest rates for the first time since 2006. Most of Wall Street's top banks see the Federal Reserve holding off until at least September before raising interest rates, based on Reuters' most recent poll. "Tomorrow's report would have to be a monster month for us to believe June is back on the table," Hogan said.

After the bell, CBS Corp's first-quarter results exceeded expectations and its stock was up 1 percent in extended trade.

In Thursday's trading session, nine of the 10 S&P 500 sectors were positive, led by technology and financial indices.

Alibaba's shares jumped 7.5 percent as the Chinese e-commerce giant reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly revenue.

Yahoo, which holds a stake in Alibaba, ended up 5.3 percent.

Yelp soared 23 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported that the operator of consumer review website Yelp.com is exploring a sale.

Oil prices fell after touching their highest in 2015 on Wednesday, pushing the energy index down 1.1 percent while lifting airline stocks.

REUTERS