Roundup: U.S. stocks rebound amid upbeat data, mixed earnings

U.S. stocks bounced back on strong jobless data Thursday after a two-day selloff, as investors took in mixed fourth-quarter earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 225.48 points, or 1.31 percent, to 17,416.85. The S&P 500 rose 19.09 points, or 0.95 percent, to 2,021.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 45.41 points, or 0.98 percent, to 4,683.41.

In the week ending Jan. 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims dropped by 43,000 to 265,000, hitting the lowest level since April 15, 2000, said U.S. Labor Department.

Investors are trying to absorb the statement released by the Federal Reserve Wednesday when the Fed upgraded its assessment of the domestic economy to "solid" growth from "moderate".

Quarterly earnings came in mixed Thursday. Shares of Alibaba tanked 8.78 percent to 89.81 dollars apiece, after the Chinese e- commerce giant reported quarterly revenue short of market estimates. Its quarterly revenue increased by 40 percent to 4.2 billion U.S. dollars, while its quarterly net income showed a decrease of 28 percent.

"The main reason (of Alibaba's plunge) is that the take-rate from Taobao and Tmall was worse than investors expected, and the pressure on take-rate is to continue as more consumers use mobile to make transaction," said Henry Guo, senior research analyst at JG Capital.

Ford Motor said Thursday its fourth-quarter net income plummeted to 52 million U.S. dollars from 3 billion dollars a year ago. Still, earnings adjusted for one-time costs were 26 cents a share, beating analysts' expectations. The company's shares gained 2.70 percent to 14.85 dollars apiece.

McDonald's surged 5.06 percent to 93.27 dollars apiece after the fast-food chain said its chief executive officer would be replaced by its chief brand officer in March.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, decreased 8.22 percent to end at 18.76 Thursday. In other markets, the dollar climbed against most major currencies as report showed the number of Americans applying for unemployment aid dropped more than expected last week.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1313 dollars from 1.1309 dollars in the previous session. The dollar bought 118.40 Japanese yen, higher than 117.69 yen of the previous session.

Oil prices stabilized after heavy selloff the previous day. Light, sweet crude for March delivery gained 8 cents to settle at 44.53 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), while Brent crude for March delivery moved up 66 cents to close at 49.13 dollars a barrel.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the Nymex fell as the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered an upbeat message to investors.

The most active gold contract for April delivery lost 31.3 dollars, or 2.43 percent, to settle at 1,255.90 dollars per ounce. Endite