U.S. stocks extend gains on last trading day of Q2

U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, the last trading day of the second quarter, as investors cheered a recovery from the post-Brexit losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 235.31 points, or 1.33 percent, to 17,929.99. The S&P 500 rose 28.09 points, or 1.36 percent, to 2,098.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 63.43 points, or 1.33 percent, to 4,842.67.

The Leave camp won Britain's Brexit referendum last week by obtaining nearly 52 percent of ballots, pulling the country out of the 28-nation European Union (EU) after its 43-year membership.

Markets showed a sign of recovery Tuesday across the globe after a record 3 trillion U.S. dollars in market capitalization was wipe off in the post-Brexit plunge.

Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 Index has completely recovered to pre-vote levels Wednesday.

U.S. stocks closed more than 1.5 percent higher Wednesday, helped by gains in oil prices, as global markets continued to rebound from previous sharp losses after Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU).

Analysts said fears receded that the stunning referendum results could send global markets on a wild descent.

On the economic front, in the week ending June 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 268,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week' s revised level, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 266,750, unchanged from the previous week's revised average.

Overseas, European equities continued to recover on Thursday. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange closed at 9,680.09 points, while the British benchmark FTSE 100 Index rose by 2.27 percent. Enditem