By Anora Mahmudova and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Thursday's positive momentum, fueled by upbeat eurozone data and better-than-expected earnings results, sent key stock benchmarks up more than 1%.

Investors rushed into cyclical stocks, such as industrials and energy sector and unloaded investments considered safe, such as Treasurys, sending the yield on a 1-year Treasury note up 4 basis points to 2.27%.

Strong quarterly results from Dow components, Caterpillar Inc., and 3M sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) at one point soaring 300 points. The blue-hip index was last trading 223 points, or 1.4%, higher at 16,688.50. The Dow components, 3M and Caterpillar, each saw roughly 4% gains in their respective share prices--contributing one third of the Dow's rally.

The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 33 points, or 1.8%, to 1,960.55, with the industrials and energy sector stocks leading broader market gains.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) jumped 89 points, or 2%, to 4,472.31.

Also pushing higher was the Dow Transportation average (DJT) , which jumped 207 points, or 2.5%, to 8,519.8.

Investors welcomed manufacturing data from eurozone, which offered some upbeat news at a time when worries about slowing global economic growth have prompted investors to dump equities world-wide. But the report also suggested manufacturers and service providers don't expect a significant pickup in the pace of activity in the coming months.

The flash PMI index number for the U.S. fell to a three-month low in October, but still indicated growth, though details of the report suggest the economy could downshift further in the fourth quarter.

Weekly jobless claims rose last week, but remained below the key 300,000 level for the sixth straight week, reflecting the low level of layoffs taking place in the economy.

Earnings: Shares of Dow industrials component Caterpillar (CAT) leapt 5.4%. The heavy-equipment maker raised its earnings outlook for the year to $6.50 a share, from $6.20, while keeping the midpoint of its revenue view unchanged. Third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.72 a share outstripped expectations of $1.36 a share.

3M (MMM), another component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, said third-quarter earnings were $1.98 a share, above expectations of $1.96 a share from a FactSet survey of analysts. Sales of $8.1 billion, however, were shy of Wall Street's estimate of $8.227 billion. Shares of the maker of Post-it notes and other industrial goods rose 5.4%.

General Motors (GM.XX) posted earnings, excluding one-time costs, of 97 cents a share, higher than projections of 95 cents a share. GM slipped 0.6%.

Shares in Tractor Supply Co (TSCO) surged 16%, after it reported quarterly results after the market close on Wednesday, beating consensus estimates. The stock was raised to strong buy from market-perform by Raymond James.

Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 55 cents a share, more than Wall Street's estimate of 53 cents a share. Shares initially gained, but by afternoon fell 3.8%. Southwest stock gained more than 80% since the start of the year.

Shares of Yelp (YELP) dropped 16%. The online review site late Wednesday posted better-than-expected third-quarter results but issued a weak outlook.

After the bell, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) will release financial reports. (Read more about the day's notable stocks in Movers & Shakers column: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/comcast-gm-3m-visa-in-focus-thursday-2014-10-23.)

Other markets: 10-year Treasury note yield jumped 7 basis points to 2.29%. In Asia overnight, stocks in Tokyo and Hong Kong finished modestly lower. European stocks closed higher, with the benchmark index rising 0.7%. Gold futures (GCZ4) fell $16 and oil prices (CLZ4) rose.

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