NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 306.78 points, or 0.63 percent, to 49,384.01. The S&P 500 added 37.73 points, or 0.55 percent, to 6,913.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 211.195 points, or 0.91 percent, to 23,436.02.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with communication services and consumer discretionary leading the gainers by rising 1.57 percent and 1.22 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, real estate and utilities led the laggards by going down 1.10 percent and 0.73 percent, respectively.
