After a shaky start, U.S. stocks rebounded Thursday, snapping a two-day losing streak.
Investors welcomed better-than-expected quarterly results from several companies, including Ford, Coach and Harley-Davidson. Homebuilder stocks surged.
Even energy stocks, which were down most of the day, recovered in concert with a slight uptick in oil prices. Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 8 cents to close at $44.53 a barrel.
New government data showing that applications for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in almost 15 years added a dash of favorable economic news.
The broader market rally helped the major stock indexes regain some of the ground they lost earlier in the week, though they remain down for the year.
Investors have had no shortage of market-moving news to digest this week, from the outcome of a national election in Greece with potential implications for the Eurozone, to the Federal Reserve's latest take on the economy and interest rates. It's also the busiest week of the current earnings season, with 142 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 scheduled to report.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 225.48 points, or 1.3 percent, to close at 17,416.85. The S&P 500 index gained 19.09 points, or 1 percent, to 2,021.25. The Nasdaq composite added 45.41 points, or 1 percent, to 4,683.41.
The gains were broad. All 10 sectors in the S&P 500 rose, led by materials stocks. Even energy stocks, which are down more than any other sector this year, eked out a 0.2 percent gain.