Positive economic news helps drive stocks up

NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market bounced back on Thursday.

Encouraging signs on the first day of spring that the economy is emerging from its winter slumber helped boost stocks a day after the market dipped on concerns that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates sooner than investors had anticipated.

The stock market has become more volatile this year as Fed policy makers have started reducing their economic stimulus, and investors have fretted whether the economy is strong enough to maintain its recovery without the central bank’s support.

“The economy is likely to have a good bounce in the spring time,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. “The market is reacting to the good economic news.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 11.24 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,872.01. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 108.88 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,331.05. The Nasdaq composite climbed11.68 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,319.29.

The S&P 500 game within a fraction of a point of wiping out all of its losses from a day earlier, when it dropped11.48 points.

Stocks started the day lower, extending their losses from Wednesday, as investors mulled comments the day before from Fed chief Janet Yellen, who set the stage for a possible interest rate hike by the middle of next year. The Fed on Wednesday also dropped its previous position of saying it would consider raising interest rates once the unemployment rate declined to 6.5 percent. Unemployment is currently 6.7 percent.

The market turned higher in mid-morning trading following news that a measure of the U.S. economy’s health rose in February by the largest amount in three months.