The U.S. stock market is bouncing back on Thursday.
After several volatile days with huge swings in both directions, the Dow is now up over 350 points, heading to close with its best two-day point gain ever, surpassing the previous record from 2008, when it logged 905 points in two consecutive days.
The Dow gained 619 points on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both posted gains above 2.4%.
U.S. energy stocks were some of the biggest winners in the morning as oil prices gained over 8% and rose back to nearly $42 a barrel.
There was also good news about the U.S. economy, which grew 3.7% in the second quarter of this year, much higher than the first official estimate on growth and even higher than what economists were projecting.
It’s a healthy sign that the American economy hasn’t been hurt that much from China’s economic slowdown yet. That eases fears about China’s impact on the overall U.S. economy.
It comes on the heels of a Federal Reserve official signaling that with all the turmoil, a September rate hike is less likely now. Most investors see a rate hike as bad for stocks and the 6-year bull market because it’ll make borrowing more expensive, even though it’s considered a good thing for the economy.
Stocks have had a wild ride recently. After closing down 588 points Monday and 204 points Tuesday, the Dow’s Wednesday 619-point rally was its best one-day point gain since 2008.
The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 were positive for the week by Thursday afternoon.
The S&P 500 and Dow are still negative for the year but as tech stocks surged Thursday, the Nasdaq turned positive for the year. It’s worth keeping in mind that stocks remain a lot higher from where they were in the past few years.
The S&P 500 is still up over 200% since its low point in 2009.