NEW YORK – Stock prices on the New York stock exchanges closed on Thursday with solid gains after a surge in crude prices, which gave the market its first profit in three days.
After another swinging day, the main US stock indices rose more than 2%.
Securities in the energy sector led the good performance because the price of crude oil increased 25%, after registering its worst level in 18 years, after President Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to calm their price war.
The rebound in crude, which was good news for an affected US energy sector, offset another terrible report on the labor market.
Millions of more Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as businesses closed because of the new coronavirus outbreak.
The S&P 500 Index gained 56.40 points (2.28%) at 2,526.90. The Dow Jones advanced 469.93 (2.24%) and ended at 21,413.44. The Nasdaq compound advanced 126.73 (1.72%) to 7,487.31.
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