Stocks Finished with Strong Gains

U.S. stocks rebounded from a two-day skid, finishing with strong gains on Thursday, as investors respond to some positive earnings surprises. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 217.00 points, or 1.28%, to 17,141.75. The S&P 500 rose 29.62 points, or 1.49%, to 2,023.86. The Nasdaq composite rose 87.25 points, or 1.82%, to 4,870.10.

Citigroup reported better profits for the third quarter than analysts were expecting.The bank earned $4.29 billion, or $1.35 a share, on revenue of $18.69 billion in the third quarter. Excluding accounting adjustments and the businesses in run-off mode, that works out to around $1.31 a share.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) reported worse-than-expected earnings Thursday thanks to a $65 million inventory write-down, but shares gained as the struggling chipmaker announced a new joint venture for manufacturing. The company reported a loss of 25 cents a share on revenue of $1.06 billion, and an adjusted loss of 17 cents a share.

Mattel Inc.’s third-quarter earnings fell 33% as the toy maker booked its eighth straight quarter of falling sales, including another big drop for its iconic Barbie doll. Mattel reported a profit of $223.8 million, or 66 cents a share, down from $331.8 million, or 97 cents, a year earlier.

Strong growth in individual tax collection drove the U.S. budget deficit to a fresh Obama-era low in fiscal 2015, the Treasury Department said Thursday. For the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 the shortfall was $439 billion, a decrease of 9%, or $44 billion, from last year.