Investing.com – Wall Street surged higher on Thursday, led by a sharp rally in the shares of American Express , after the company posted better than expected earnings while US Treasury Steven Mnuchin’s comments on tax reform lifted sentiment.
American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) posted better than expected first quarter earnings after the US closing bell on Wednesday, as spending by card members surged during the first three months of the year.
"Card Member spending grew 8 percent, adjusted for changes in foreign exchange rates and Costco-related business that was included in the prior year," Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault said in a statement.
Elsewhere, Steve Mnuchin's comments on tax reform, lifted sentiment after he said Thursday, the Trump administration is ‘close’ to bringing forward tax reform.
Meanwhile, U.S. equities shrugged off weaker than expected manufacturing and jobs data.
The Labor Department said Thursday, initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 244,000 for the week ended April 15, which was higher than analysts’ forecast of 242,000.
In a separate report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that the Philly Fed manufacturing index rose to a seasonally adjusted 22.0, from 32.8 in the preceding month.
In other corporate earnings news, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) posted disappointing first quarter earnings, which missed on both the top and bottom line. Shares of Verizon sank 1% to trade at $48.37 by 15:01 EDT.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 0.96% higher at 20,600. The S&P 500 gained 0.84% and the Nasdaq Composite traded 0.98% higher at 5918.94.