Stocks extended their gains to a second day Thursday after an upbeat profit report from Best Buy Co. and new unemployment numbers added to a sense that the economy might be finding its footing.
The report from Best Buy boosted hopes that consumer spending could show more resilience than some analysts had expected.
Readings on the nation's economic output and weekly unemployment claims gave mixed signals about the economy. But the numbers still largely supported a growing notion in the market the past two weeks that the economy might be showing early signs of stabilizing.
In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 59.02, or 0.8 percent, to 7,808.83.
Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.39, or 0.9 percent, to 821.27, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 26.85, or 1.8 percent, to 1,555.80.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.93, or 0.9 percent, to 430.45.
About two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 203.9 million shares.
Stocks closed higher Wednesday after a day of fractious trading. Economic data that came in ahead of expectations brought in buyers and helped offset worries about what some saw as lackluster demand at a government debt auction.
Bond prices slipped early Thursday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.81 percent from 2.79 percent late Wednesday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.17 percent from 0.15 percent.
The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.
Oil rose 98 cents to $53.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Best Buy, the world's largest consumer electronics retailer, said Thursday that its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 23 percent as it booked some one-time expenses but its results stripping out those costs beat analysts' estimates as sales climbed on store openings. Best Buy rose $4.14, or 12.4 percent, to $37.60.
And meat processor ConAgra Foods Inc. rose 46 cents, or 3 percent, to $16.01 after posting results topped Wall Street's expectations.
Earnings at Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. also came in ahead of what Wall Street had been expected. The stock rose $1.42, or 9.2 percent, to $16.93.
Meanwhile, the government reported the nation's gross domestic product shrank at a 6.3 percent pace in the fourth quarter. That was a bigger drop than the government previously estimated but not as severe as analysts predicted.
The number of workers seeking unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, though less than economists forecast. But the total number of people claiming benefits jumped to 5.56 million, higher than economists projected. It was the ninth straight record high.
Investors are again looking to Washington, this time for insights into the types of regulation proposed to avoid a repeat of the financial crisis that helped touch off the recession. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is testifying before the House Financial Services Committee to outline the Obama administration's proposal for extensive overhaul of financial regulations.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.8 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.2 percent.
