NEW YORK, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks finished higher on Thursday, recouping some of the massive losses they suffered in the prior session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 139.16 points, or 0.52 percent, to 26,659.11. The S&P 500 increased 39.08 points, or 1.19 percent, to 3,310.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 180.72 points, or 1.64 percent, to 11,185.59.
Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors advanced, with energy closing up 3.2 percent, leading the gainers. Health care dipped 0.71 percent, the worst-performing group.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher, with nine of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.
Wall Street pored through some economic data.
U.S. economic activity in the third quarter grew at an annual rate of 33.1 percent after a sharp contraction in the previous quarter, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Thursday. The reading exceeded the 32-percent estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
The rebound came after the economy plunged at a revised annual rate of 31.4 percent in the second quarter amid mounting COVID-19 fallout, which has been the largest decline since the U.S. government began keeping records in 1947.
"The increase in third quarter GDP reflected continued efforts to reopen businesses and resume activities that were postponed or restricted due to COVID-19," according to the advance estimate released by the department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Meanwhile, the number of initial jobless claims in the United States fell to 751,000 last week, as the labor market continues to recover at a slowing pace, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.
In the week ending Oct. 24, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits decreased by 40,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 791,000, showed the report.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks fell sharply with the Dow closing down more than 900 points, amid coronavirus fears. Enditem
