Wall Street rallies as oil prices soar

NEW YORK (AA) – Wall Street rallied to close higher Thursday after oil prices climbed around 2 percent.

The Dow Jones rose 230 points to end the day at 18,011 points. The S&P 500 was up 27 points to close at 2,113, while the Nasdaq gained 76 points to finish at 4,910.

Oil prices were up as a weaker U.S. dollar against the British pound, euro and Chinese yuan drove demand for crude.

At the final bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $50.12 per barrel -- a 2 percent increase, and international benchmark Brent crude was at $50.95 -- up 2.2 percent.

Investors now focus on the results of the U.K.'s EU referendum, and are expected to make their feelings known through market performance Friday morning.