Stocks Ended Higher, Posted Third Straight Day of Gains

U.S. stocks ended solidly higher on Thursday, as investors considered the prospects that the Federal Reserve would move ahead with easing monetary policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 181.09 points, or 0.71%, to 25,720.66. The S&P 500 gained 17.34 points, or 0.61%, to 2,843.49. The Nasdaq Composite added 40.08 points, or 0.53%, to 7,615.55.

Oil futures climbed sharply by the settlement on Thursday, as a report that the U.S. may delay tariffs on Mexico helped ease concerns over trade tensions that threaten to hurt energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery rose 91 cents, or 1.8%, to settle at $52.59 a barrel. August Brent rose $1.04, or 1.7%, to $61.67 a barrel.

Zoom (ZM) topped Wall Street’s expectations during its first quarterly results as a public company. The video conferencing software company on Thursday reported first-quarter sales that more than doubled over last year to $122 million, ahead of expectations for $111.4 million, according to Bloomberg estimates.