U.S. stocks surged on Thursday, with major indexes up more than 1 percent in a broad rally as strong results, including from two Dow components, reassured investors that corporations continue to fare well despite concerns about global economic growth.

The advance continued a recent bout of strength for equities. The S&P 500 has posted a gain of 0.9 percent or more in four of the past five sessions, taking it within 2.8 percent of its record close. After a four-week string of declines, the S&P is up 3.6 percent this week, putting it on track for its biggest weekly advance since January 2013.

The CBOE Volatility index .VIX was down 10.5 percent at 15.98. The "fear index" is off 27 percent this week, on track for its biggest weekly decline since January 2013.

Shares of both Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) and 3M Co (MMM.N) rose following their results. Caterpillar, which also raised its full-year profit view, was up 5.2 percent at $99.52 while 3M added 6 percent to $147.34. The S&P industrial sector .SPLRCI rose 2.2 percent as one of the biggest advancing sectors on the day.

"It's good to see good numbers in any company, but if we're looking at headwinds like currency and slowing global growth, seeing multinationals like Caterpillar and 3M post solid beats gives us confidence that economic growth is holding on and probably better than the market is currently expecting," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York.

On the downside, AT&T Inc (T.N) fell 2.6 percent to $33.60 a day after reporting weaker-than-expected revenue growth. The results pressured the telecom sector .SPLRCL, which lost 1.4 percent as the only one of the ten primary S&P 500 sectors down on the day.

Yelp Inc (YELP.N) slumped 16 percent to $58.90 on heavy volume a day after giving a revenue outlook that was below expectations. The outlook prompted many analysts to cut their price targets on the stock.

This season has largely been a positive one for companies. With 35 percent of the S&P 500 having reported, 69.5 percent have exceeded profit expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data, above the long-term average of 63 percent.

Jobless claims rose by 17,000 in the latest week, in line with expectations, while the underlying trend remained consistent with a firming labor market.

At 10:56 a.m. the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 255.15 points, or 1.55 percent, to 16,716.47, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 27.56 points, or 1.43 percent, to 1,954.67 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 73.45 points, or 1.68 percent, to 4,456.30.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2,494 to 440, for a 5.67-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 2,054 issues rose and 473 fell for a 4.34-to-1 ratio.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 32 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 39 new highs and 23 new lows.

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