U.S. stocks ended higher for the third straight day on Thursday, with the Dow back to 11,000 plus after decent jobs data and stronger-than-expected retail sales.

The Dow Jones industrial average rallied 183.38 points, or 1.68 percent, to 11,123.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 jumped 20.94 points, or 1.83 percent, to 1,164.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 46.31 points, or 1.88 percent, to 2,506.82.

The strong three-day rally officially began from the last 30 minutes of trading on Tuesday when a Financial Times report showed European Union finance ministers were looking into ways to recapitalize banks after agreeing on additional measures to rescue the financial institutions in the debt-ridden region.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank announced to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.5 percent, disappointing some investors. However, stocks got a boost after the central bank said it would buy bonds issued by banks, making it easier for them to lend.

Adding to the momentum, the latest batch of economic data offered some relief to investors. Major retailers announced strong September sales thanks to deeper discount and various promotions, easing concerns about a double-dip recession for the world's biggest economy.

Meanwhile, data released by the Labor Department showed the number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 401,000 last week. The number provided another evidence for the weak job market, although it was better than analysts had expected.

"This is very encouraging," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist of high frequency economics. "For now, these numbers look good, though we can't be sure they'll stay that way given weak business confidence."

By far, the blue-chip Dow rallied more than 4 percent in the last three sessions, the strongest three-day performance since late August. The broader S&P 500 jumped over 5 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged about 7 percent, both posting best three- day gains since mid-August.

Among stocks in focus, shares of Apple showed strength and ended with very small losses of 0.23 percent after its iconic co- founder Steve Jobs passed away on Wednesday. Survey showed 96 percent of analysts covering the stock recommended buying the stock and saw it growing by about 35 percent over the next year. The median price target for Apple is 500 dollars a share, according to analysts.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet