Övünç Kutlu
15 October 2021•Update: 15 October 2021
ANKARA
US stocks rallied Thursday to close on a high note as corporate earnings boosted investors' confidence in economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The S&P 500 soared 74 points, or 1.71%, to close at 4,438 -- its biggest percentage gain since March 5.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 251 points to end at 14,823, posting a 1.73% increase -- its single largest gain since May 20.
The Dow Jones added 534 points, or 1.56%, to 34,912. The blue-chip index had its best single-day since July 20.
The rally came after US banks posted strong earnings in the third quarter that provided a positive sentiment for investors.
Bank of America’s stock price gained 4.52% after announcing its net income rose to $7.7 billion in the July-September period, up 57% from $4.9 billion during the same period last year.
Among tech stocks, AMC Entertainment and Coinbase Global each added more than 5%. Apple, Microsoft and Google's parent firm, Alphabet, saw shares gain more than 2% apiece.
Bullish sentiment pushed down the VIX volatility index, as the fear index plummeted 9.5% to 16.86.
The dollar index declined 0.1% to 93.97, while the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes fell 2.47% to 1.511%.
Oil prices were on the rise again with international benchmark Brent crude trading at $84.23 with a 1.26% gain and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $81.50 -- a 1.3% increase.
Precious metals continued to increase with gold adding 0.16% to $1,795 per ounce and silver increasing 1.9% to $23.54.
