By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq extended their winning streak to six consecutive trading days as the latest macroeconomic data on Thursday have eased fears of a possible recession in the US.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq soared nearly 402 points, or 2.34%, to finish the session at 17,594.
The S&P 500 increased 88 points, or 1.61%, to close at 5,543.
The Dow, meanwhile, jumped 554 points, or 1.39%, to end the day at 40,563. The blue-chip index marked its third daily gain in a row.
The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell 7,000 last week to 227,000, according to Labor Department data released earlier. The figure came in less than market estimates of 236,000.
Business inventories in the US increased 0.3% to reach $2,567.5 billion in June, according to Commerce Department figures released earlier. They were up 2.1% year-on-year. The gain in inventories indicates that consumer demand is weakening in the US as a result of the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening to fight inflation.
The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 5.9% to 15.23. The 10-year US Treasury yield rose 2.65% to 3.927%.
The US dollar index rose 0.44% to 103.02, while the euro fell 0.36% to $1.0972 against the greenback.
Precious metals were in positive territory, with gold adding 0.3% to $2,455 per ounce and silver increasing 2.8% to $28.34.
Oil prices were up more than 1.4%, with global benchmark Brent crude at $80.89 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $78.01.