Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday from a considerable sell-off in the previous session, as dovish comments from European Central Bank president Mario Draghi on the potential for increased stimulus measures and a rare spike in crude prices provided a lift to the major indices.
One day after falling by more than 550 points at session lows, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded on Thursday closing at 15,882,68, up 115.94 or 0.74% on the day. The NASDAQ Composite index inched up 0.37 or 0.01% to 4,472.06, amid strong performances from semiconductor and media stocks. At session highs, the Dow and NASDAQ gained as much 271 and 65 points respectively.
The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, added 9.66 or 0.52%, as seven of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Energy and Telecommunications industries led, each gaining more than 2% on the session. Stocks in the Financials, Health Care and Utilities sectors lagged.
Citing increased downside risks in global financial and commodity markets, as well as weak inflation expectations, the ECB left its benchmark interest rate and its deposit rate unchanged on Thursday. Draghi, however, sparked a rally in global equities by suggesting the central bank could reconsider its monetary policies when it meets next in March. Shortly after, crude futures rallied as much as 6% bouncing from 12-year lows, as a rebound in equity markets worldwide provided energy traders with an opportunity to cover record-low short positions.
The top performer on the Dow was Verizon Communications Inc (N:VZ), which jumped 1.45 or 3.26% to 45.87. Earlier on Thursday, the top wireless service provider slightly topped analysts' earnings forecasts amid optimistic demand projections with its Custom TV service. Speaking to reporters on an earnings conference call, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo touted the prospects of its "skinny pay TV bundles," which the company said represented roughly one-third of its Fios video sales last quarter.
"We are starting to see more and more customers coming into FiOS on a broadband-only basis," Shammo said. "Customers right-size their existing bundles (and) value having a choice in selecting linear video packages."
The worst performer was GS, which lost 2.10 or 1.37% to 151.65. A session earlier, Goldman Sachs (N:GS) reported declining quarterly earnings for the third consecutive period days after informing investors that a settlement with federal regulators to resolve Financial Crisis-related claims would reduce profits by $1.5 billion after taxes.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Xilinx Inc (O:XLNX), which added 3.70 or 8.59% to 46.78. Xilinx (O:XLNX), a San Jose, California-based programmable logic chip maker, reported stronger than expected third quarter sales on Thursday and received an upgrade from analysts at BMO. The worst performer was Seagate Technology (O:STX), which fell 1.64 or 5.61% to 27.58. Shares in the Massachusetts-based data-storage company are down more than 50% over the last year.
Energy stocks dominated the S&P 500, as CONSOL Energy Inc (N:CNX),Range Resources Corporation (N:RRC),Southwestern Energy Company (N:SWN), Devon Energy Corporation (N:DVN) and Noble Energy Inc (N:NBL) all surged by more than 10%. Consol Energy , the top performer, gained 0.98 or 19.33% to close at 6.05. Seagate Technology was also the worst performer on the S&P 500, just below NFLX which lost 5.40 or 5.01% to 102.34. Netflix (O:NFLX) shares have declined slightly from their closing level on Tuesday, after the internet video streaming giant narrowly beat expectations with its fourth quarter earnings.
A host of prominent companies including: Starbucks Corporation (O:SBUX), American Express Company (N:AXP) and Schlumberger NV (N:SLB) are scheduled to report earnings after the bell.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 1,999 to 1,006 margin.