Stocks staged a rally on Thursday as strong earnings report from Meta Platforms (FB  ) signaled some signs of relief for the tech sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed over 600 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite rose about 2.5% and 3% higher, respectively.

Wall Street has had a very volatile week as investors look for direction amid concerns of slowing economic growth. Market benchmarks staged a rally to close higher on Monday, but fell lower on Tuesday, and those declines lead to the Nasdaq's 2022 low on Wednesday.

Here's how the market settled on Thursday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +2.48% or +103.56 points to 4,287.52

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +1.84% or +614.33 points to 33,916.26

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +3.06% or +382.59 points to 12,871.53

U.S. GDP growth slows in first quarter:

U.S. economic activity slowed in the first three months of 2022 as lingering supply chains issues, inflationary pressures, and the war between Russia and Ukraine hampered growth.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported a 1.4% annualized gross domestic product (GDP) growth for its preliminary first quarter reading, following a 6.9% growth rate at the end of 2021.

"In the first quarter, an increase of COVID-19 cases related to the Omicron variant resulted in continued restrictions and disruptions in the operations of establishments in some parts of the country," the BEA said in its report Thursday. "Government assistance payments in the form of forgivable loans to businesses, grants to state and local government, and social benefits to households all decreased as provisions of several federal programs expired or tapered off."

Jobless claims remain below 200,000 for tenth week:

First-time unemployment claims fell again in the latest weekly data as a strong job market and improving unemployment levels continue to be a positive measure in the U.S. economy.

New jobless claims totale 180,000 for the week ended April 23, according to the Labor Department's report published Thursday, a decrease from the previous week's revised print of 185,000. First-time filing for unemployment benefits held below 200,000 for a 10th consecutive week.

Continuing jobless claims also fell for the week ended April 16, totaling 1.408 million, a decrease of 1,000 from the prior week's revised print.

Here's how benchmarks started trading after market open:

S&P 500 Index: +1.31% or +54.92 points to 4,238.88

Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.60% or +200.09 points to 33,502.02

Nasdaq Composite Index: +1.82% or +227.07 points to 12,716.00