By Barbara Kollmeyer and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch , Ryan Vlastelica

First-time jobless claims fall by 7,000 in latest week

U.S. stocks advanced in a broad rally on Thursday, with major indexes snapping a multi-day losing streak, as upbeat data on the labor market helped investors shake off the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent gathering, which hinted at quickened pace of rate increases.

What are the main benchmarks doing?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 254 points, or 1%, to 25,057. The S&P 500 added 24 points to 2,725, a rise of 0.9%. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 53 points, or 0.7%, to 7,270.

The day's gains were broad, with all 11 of the S&P 500 sectors higher on the day.

Both the Dow and the S&P are coming off a two-day losing streak, while Thursday could be the Nasdaq's first positive session of the past four.

Read: MarketWatch's Need to Know column: Forget the Fed and just 'follow the money' to decipher what's happening in stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/forget-the-fed-and-just-follow-the-money-to-decipher-whats-happening-in-stocks-2018-02-22)

What could drive markets?

On Wednesday, major indexes tumbled in afternoon trading, surrendering gains that had the Dow up by 303 points at its peak (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-inch-lower-as-investors-brace-for-fed-minutes-2018-02-21). The losses followed the release of the minutes from the January Federal Open Market Committee meeting (https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomcminutes20180131.htm). The minutes showed that policy makers felt the U.S. economy is stronger than at the end of 2017, and they see an "increased likelihood" of more interest rate increases, reinforcing prospects for a rate rise in March.

That news drove up the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to a fresh four-year high above 2.94%, and pushed the dollar higher.

Even though investors want to see an improving economy, they have had a heightened sensitivity to the prospect of accelerated inflation, rising interest rates, and higher bond yields ever since a recent reading on wages showed its fastest growth in years.

See:Higher inflation, tax-and-spend boom has investors looking for Fed clues (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/higher-inflation-trump-tax-and-spend-boom-leave-investors-looking-for-fed-clues-2018-02-17)

Those jitters lingered as the 10-year yield stayed relatively elevated at around 2.91%.

Which data and Fed speakers are in focus?

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard tried to tamp down the growing expectations of economists that the U.S. central bank will engineer four quarter-point rate increases this year. "The idea that we have to go 100 basis points in 2018, that seems like a lot to me (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-bullard-casts-doubt-on-expectations-of-four-interest-rate-hikes-this-year-2018-02-22)," Bullard said in an interview on CNBC.

Earlier on Thursday, the Fed's vice chairman for supervision, Randall Quarles, said in Tokyo that recent low inflation readings aren't "a great concern (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-quarles-says-low-us-inflation-readings-are-not-a-great-concern-2018-02-22)," and the economy is "performing very well."

Related:Puerto Rico should not despair despite seemingly grim outlook, Fed's Dudley says (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/puerto-rico-should-not-despair-despite-seemingly-grim-outlook-feds-dudley-says-2018-02-22)

Initial U.S. jobless claims fell by 7,000 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-drop-7000-to-222000-and-fall-back-to-45-year-low-2018-02-22) to 222,000 in the seven days ended Feb. 17, marking the second lowest level since the end of the 2007-2009 recession. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast claims to total 230,000. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-quarles-says-low-us-inflation-readings-are-not-a-great-concern-2018-02-22)

What are strategists saying?

"We're seeing a repricing of risk given the anticipation of inflation and higher rates, but some of that is a byproduct of an improving economy, one that's growing faster than normal. In general, the broader economic conditions continue to improve," said Steven Baffico, chief executive officer at Four Wood Capital Partners.

Which stocks are in focus?

Shares in Roku Inc.(ROKU) plunged 16% in heavy trading after the streaming-video company issued a disappointing outlook late Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/roku-stock-plummets-despite-earnings-beat-as-forecast-disappoints-2018-02-21), along with better-than-expected quarterly earnings.

Read more:Roku forecast hurts stock, but includes a major milestone (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/roku-forecast-hurts-stock-but-includes-a-major-milestone-2018-02-21)

And see:Roku CEO says memory shortage affected earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/roku-ceo-says-memory-shortage-damaged-earnings-2018-02-21)

Pandora Media Inc.'s stock (P) shed 8% after the music service late Wednesday posted stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pandora-stock-gains-as-fourth-quarter-revenue-beats-expectations-2018-02-21), although the adjusted net loss was wider than expected.

Car-rental giant Avis Budget Group Inc.(CAR) gained 11% after its better-than-anticipated results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/avis-shares-rally-10-on-quarterly-beat-for-car-rental-company-2018-02-21).

Check out:Pandora's focus on adding subscribers is paying off, CEO says (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pandoras-focus-on-adding-subscribers-is-paying-off-ceo-says-2018-02-21)

Cheesecake Factory Inc.(CAKE) was 3% higher even as its results late Wednesday revealed weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cheesecake-factory-shares-fall-after-companys-revenue-miss-2018-02-21).

Wayfair Inc. shares (W) sank nearly 22% after the online home retailer reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wayfair-shares-sink-after-wider-than-expected-loss-2018-02-22).

Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s stock (CHK) surged 23% after the company topped earnings estimates for the fourth quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chesapeake-energy-shares-jump-7-premarket-after-earnings-top-estimates-2018-02-22). The stock was one of the biggest boosts to the energy sector, which rose 2% as one of the best-performing industries of the day on a percentage basis. A 1.4% rise in the price of crude oil also supported the sector.

Separately, Exxon Mobil Corp.(XOM) rose 2.3% while Occidental Petroleum Corp.(OXY) was up 2.1%.

How are other assets performing?

European stocks mostly dropped, while Asian equities largely closed lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-stocks-slide-following-wall-street-selloff-2018-02-21), though the Shanghai Composite Index jumped more than 2% in the first day of trading after the weeklong Lunar New Year holidays.

Oil and gold futures lost ground, and the ICE U.S. Dollar Index was little changed.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 22, 2018 11:34 ET (16:34 GMT)