Wall Street bounced on Thursday as hints of a deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia drove a record 30% surge in oil prices, outweighing the shock of a jump in US jobless claims past 6 million.
The S&P energy index, down by half this year, gained 12%, with double-digit gains for majors Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp helping drive a more than 1% rise for both the S&P 500 and the Dow.
US President Donald Trump said he expected Russia's Vladimir Putin and the Saudi Crown Prince to announce an output cut of 10 million to 15 million barrels per day, putting Brent on track for its biggest one-day gain on record.
Apache Corp, Diamondback Energy Inc and Helmerich Payne all gained between 18% and 22% as minds for a moment moved away from the economic damage being wrought by the coronavirus pandemic.
The first quarter of 2020 was among US stock markets' worst in history, and analysts predict further declines as shutdowns to combat the COVID-19 outbreak drive more corporate budget cuts.
Boeing Co, a symbol of America's industrial might,
said on Thursday it would offer buyout and early retirement packages to employees, as a near collapse in business activity crushes liquidity and sparks mass staff furloughs.
At 10:54 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 284.00 points, or 1.36%, at 21,227.51, the S&P 500 was up 33.21 points, or 1.34%, at 2,503.71. The Nasdaq Composite was up 66.19 points, or 0.90%, at 7,426.77.