1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks rally on Draghi comments, oil recovery

U.S. stocks rebounded amid rising oil prices Thursday, as comments from the European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi signaled further stimulus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 115.94 points, or 0.74 percent, to 15,882.68. The S&P 500 rose 9.66 points, or 0.52 percent, to 1,868.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.37 point, or 0.01 percent, to 4,472.06.

The ECB held its key interest rates at record low levels on Thursday and planned to "reconsider" its monetary policy early March in a bid to lift weak inflation and stimulate the economy.

"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 remarks suggested that the ECB is willing to offer more stimulus at its next meeting in March, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Oil prices rebounded strongly Thursday, with both the U.S. oil and Brent crude surging over 4 percent, as traders started to buy the dips despite persistent oversupply worries.

On Wednesday, the West Texas Intermediate for February delivery settled at 26.55 U.S. dollars a barrel 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 jobless 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 minor 3.5 for January, and has now been negative for five consecutive months. Enditem