Wall St ends sharply higher on boost from chips

The Dow rose 322.35 points, or 0.87%, to 37,404.35, the S&P 500 gained 48.4 points, or 1.03%, at 4,746.75 and the Nasdaq added 185.92 points, or 1.26%, at 14,963.87.

NEW YORK: US stocks closed higher on Thursday, winning back much of the previous day's losses, as economic data fueled optimism that the Federal Reserve would ease monetary policy and revived investor risk appetite.

All three major US stock indices posted gains as chips surged, led by Micron Technology after its better-than-expected quarterly forecast, putting the tech-heavy Nasdaq out front.