Stocks rallied Thursday, finding momentum after a week of volatile trading, as investors purchased a variety of shares that fell in the recent sell-off—including commodity, consumer, homebuilding, and technology stocks. In economic news, U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) shrank at a slower pace that initially estimated, contracting at an annual rate of 5.5 percent. Weekly jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week, and continuing claims—the total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits—rose to 6,738,000 after declining a week ago. Light sweet crude oil for August delivery rose $1.73 to $70.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The U.S. dollar gained versus the euro and the yen. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 172.54, or 2.1 percent, to 8,472.40. Twenty-eight of the index's 30 components gained, including IBM, Boeing, United Technologies, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron. Bank of America (BoA) shares fell as a congressional hearing about its purchase of Merrill Lynch created some investor concern. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Ben Bernanke said he did not pressure BoA chief executive Ken Lewis to complete the company's purchase of Merrill Lynch, contradicting Lewis' testimony from two weeks ago. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 19.32, or 2.1 percent, to 920.26. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 37.20, or 2.1 percent, to 1,829.54. The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 115.31 to 5,911.03. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 33.09 to 1,589.29. And the Russell 2000 index rose 14.23 to 509.18.
