US stocks extend gains, Dow Jones jumps over 500 points

US stock indices rose on Thursday, after the release of positive business results by major banks and strong economic data.

The US Department of Labor revealed that the number of initial unemployment claims was at 293K last week from 329K, lower than forecasts of 315K.

The producer price index rose 0.5% in September, missing forecasts of 0.6%, while the core reading of the same index rose 0.2%, missing forecasts of 0.5%.

The Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed that the central bank's members discussed a plan to reduce asset purchases by $15 billion per month.

The Fed members expected the central bank to start cutting the pandemic bond-buying program starting Mid-November.

To the oil market, WTI crude November futures rose 1.1% or 87 cents, and closed at $81.31 a barrel, the highest closing since October 2014.

Brent December futures rose 1% or 82 cents, and closed at $84 a barrel.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 1.5% to 34,912 points, with a day high of 34,923, and a low of 34,443.

S&P 500 rose 1.7% or 74 points to 4,438, after hitting a high of 4,439 and a low of 4,386 points.

Nasdaq rose 1.7% or 251 points to 14,823, with a high of 14,827 and a low of 14,699.