U.S. stocks rally on Draghi's comment

U.S. stocks traded higher in the morning session Thursday, as comments from the European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi signaled further stimulus.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 146.49 points, or 0.93 percent, to 15,913.23. The S&P 500 gained 14.52 points, or 0.78 percent, to 1,873.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 22.39 points, or 0.50 percent, to 4,494.07.

"It will therefore be necessary to review and possibly reconsider our monetary policy stance at our next meeting in early March," Draghi said, "Work will be carried out to ensure that all the technical conditions are in place to make the full range of policy options available for implementation, if needed."

Draghi's comments suggested the central bank is willing to offer more stimulus at its next meeting in March, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The ECB announced earlier on Thursday that its key interest rates would remain unchanged at record low levels.

Oil prices remained in focus on Thursday after refreshing their multi-year lows Wednesday, dragged down by a global supply glut. The West Texas Intermediate for February delivery settled at 26.55 U.S. dollars a barrel Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest level since May 2003.

On the economic front, in the week ending Jan. 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 293,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing survey's diffusion index for current activity came out at -3.5 for January, and has now been negative for five consecutive months.

U.S. stocks closed lower after wild swings Wednesday, as a further decline in oil prices continued to weigh on market sentiment. Enditem