The U.S. economy got some relief from a favorable unemployment report on Thursday, and the stock markets responded in kind with strong gains from the opening bell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 500 points a half hour after the markets opened, helping to counter the massive losses sustained in trading earlier this week. As of 10:23 a.m., the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 also saw gains in the 1.5% range.
The Labor Department reported that first-time filings for unemployment benefits were lower than projections. The seasonally adjusted figure of 233,000 was 7,000 lower than expected and 17,000 fewer than the previous week's number.
