NEW YORK, June 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as Wall Street assessed the likelihood of a recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 194.23 points, or 0.64 percent, to 30,677.36. The S&P 500 increased 35.84 points, or 0.95 percent, to 3,795.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 179.11 points, or 1.62 percent, to 11,232.19.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with utilities and health care up 2.35 percent and 2.22 percent, respectively, outpacing the rest. Energy dropped 3.75 percent, the worst-performing group.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday concluded two days of testimony in front of Congress. At a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Wednesday, Powell reiterated the central bank's commitment to rein in inflation and acknowledged the risk of a recession.
On the economic front, U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, dropped by 2,000 to 229,000 in the week ending June 18, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast initial jobless claims to total 225,000.
