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U.S. stocks rally amid upbeat earnings, data

Xinhua, October 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks traded sharply higher in the morning session on Thursday, as McDonald's financial results beat investors' expectations and jobless claims data showed a strengthening labor market.

By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 222.47 points, or 1.30 percent, to 17,391.08. The S&P 500 gained 25.83 points, or 1.28 percent, to 2,044.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index soared 64.84 points, or 1.34 percent, to 4,904.96.

Shares of McDonald's jumped over 6 percent in the early trading Thursday, after the company's quarterly earnings and revenue beat estimates as demand recovered in China.

Before Thursday's opening bell, McDonald's announced results for the third quarter. Its diluted earnings per share were 1.40 U.S. dollars, an increase of 28 percent from a year ago.

On the economic front, in the week ending Oct. 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 259,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

Overseas, European equities traded higher Thursday after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged.

"As regards non-standard monetary policy measures, the asset purchases are proceeding smoothly and continue to have a favorable impact on the cost and availability of credit for firms and households," said President of ECB Mario Draghi.

In Asia, China's shares closed higher on Thursday with healthcare, transport and service sectors leading the gains, reversing a large fall registered during the past trading day.

U.S. stocks ended lower Wednesday, as Wall Street meditated on a mixed bag of quarterly results from big companies. Enditem