NEW YORK — Investors sent the Dow Jones industrials back above 10,000 on Thursday after a stream of upbeat economic news convinced them that things might not be so bad after all.
The Dow rose 273 points to 10,172. All the major indexes climbed more than 2.5 percent. Falling Treasury prices pushed interest rates higher as demand for safe investments eased.
Energy stocks led the market higher after they slid late Wednesday on concerns that BP would be forced to cut its dividend because of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP PLC rose 12.3 percent from a 14-year low, while Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which has a minority stake in the rig that caused the spill, rose 12.4 percent.
Most bank stocks rose, but Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fell 2.2 percent to a 52-week low after news reports that it was target of another investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC has already filed civil fraud charges against the company. The company has denied wrongdoing.
Investors have pounded stocks for more than a month because of concerns that Europe’s sovereign debt crisis would slow a rebound worldwide. Thursday’s advance was the latest swing in a market that has been volatile for weeks.
Markets around the world rose after China said exports rose 48.5 percent in May, while imports jumped 48.3 percent. The increase in trade provides some relief from fears that debt problems in Europe would halt a global economic recovery.
The Dow rose 273.28, or 2.8 percent, to 10,172.53. It was the Dow’s first close above 10,000 this week and its biggest gain since May 27, when it climbed nearly 285 points after China said it didn’t plan to sell its European government bonds.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 31.15, or 3 percent, to 1,086.84, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 59.86, or 2.8 percent, to 2,218.71.
The euro rose to $1.2111.
