Wall Street pushed ahead on Thursday, with all three major benchmarks gaining above 1.5% during intraday trading. FAANG--Facebook (FB  ), Apple (AAPL  ), Amazon (AMZN  ), Netflix (NFLX  ) and Google (GOOGL  )--stocks helped lift the Nasdaq back into positive territory for 2020. The index had fallen more than 32% back in March due to the coronavirus pandemic-induced market crash.

Yet, the economic data for the United States is not preforming like the stock market, as the U.S. Labor Department's weekly jobless claims reported that another 3.169 million individuals filed new unemployment claims for the week ended May 2. While slightly less than last week's reading of 3.8 million, the unemployment claims are still showing a deeper economic burden that will linger longer than the threat of the virus. So far, the coronavirus pandemic has pushed at least 33 million Americans out of work as statewide shutdowns and restrictions continue into early May.

Here's how the market settled on Thursday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +1.15% or +32.77 points to 2,881.19

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.89% or +211.25 points to 23,875.89

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +1.41% or +125.27 points to 8,979.66

In Major Stock Market News, Peloton (PTON  ) popped during Thursday's session after the company's earnings report showed a 66% increase in sales year-to-year as the pandemic forced consumers to consider home workout options. PayPal (PYPL  ) also soared after its earnings report revealed that the number of daily users on the platform accelerated throughout the early pandemic as money service switched to contactless payments. Square (SQ  ) benefitted as well with the company's CFO announcing that its Cash App generated a 112% profit growth in March. Moderna (MRNA  ) announced on Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration approved the drugmaker's coronavirus vaccine candidate for Phase 2 trials.

In Stock Sector News, most sectors reversed Wednesday's negative drop during Thursday's session, with only Consumer Staples -0.41% and Health Care -0.05% declining. The positive performance gains were as follows: Energy +2.47%, Financials +2.22%, Materials +2.13%, Communication Services +1.56%, Information Technology +1.52%, Consumer Discretionary +1.34%, Industrials +1.14%, Real Estate +0.85% and Utilities +0.44%.

In Commodity and Currency News, June crude oil futures declined on Thursday despite demand hopes that reopening plans are bringing. West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) slipped almost 2% and Brent Crude (BNO  ) dropped about 1%, settling barrel prices at $23.55 and $29.46, respectively. Gold (GLD  ) increased over 2%, bringing the metal back to over $1,700 per ounce. Finally, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) declined -0.05% during Thursday's session.

As the market moves into Friday, investors are bracing for an April jobs report that is expected to be the worst in history.