1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks soar on ECB's stimulus plan announcement

U.S. stocks extended rally Thursday, with the three major indices logging their fourth straight daily gains, boosted by the bigger-than-expected eurozone quantitative easing (QE) program launched by the European Central Bank (ECB).

The three benchmark indices all rose nearly 1.5 percent, bringing both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index back to slightly positive territory for the year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also briefly turned positive for 2015 in the late afternoon trading.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 259.70 points, or 1.48 percent, to 17,813.98. The S&P 500 advanced 31.03 points, or 1.53 percent, to 2,063.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 82.98 points, or 1.78 percent, to 4,750.40.

The ECB announced Thursday to start QE by purchasing public and private securities in a bid to address prolonged low inflation in the eurozone.

ECB President Mario Draghi said at a press conference following the bank's policy meeting that "the combined monthly purchases of public and private sector securities will amount to 60 billion euros. They are intended to be carried out until end-September 2016." The size of the eurozone QE program beat market expectations of a 50-billion-euro monthly purchasing program.

On the economic front, in the week ending Jan. 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 307,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

U.S. house prices rose 0.8 percent in November on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month's revised reading of 0.4 percent, beating market consensus, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Quarterly earnings came out generally upbeat. EBay shares surged 7.05 percent to 57.15 dollars apiece Thursday, as the global e-commerce platform and payments leader reported its adjusted earnings increased to 0.90 dollar per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2014 from 0.81 dollar per share a year ago after Wednesday's closing bell.

Shares of Southwest Airlines soared 8.42 percent to 45.35 dollars apiece Thursday, after the largest U.S. airline by domestic traffic delivered its better-than-expected net income for the fourth quarter of 2014 due to lower oil prices.

Adding positive sentiment to the market, overseas stock markets witnessed a broad-based increase Thursday. European shares rebounded strongly following the ECB's action, while Asian equities also posted modest gains after a choppy session. Endite