Stocks rose at the end of Thursday's volatile session as mega-cap tech companies gained ahead of their quarterly earnings reports. Investors were also encouraged by better-than-expected economic data for U.S. quarterly gross domestic product and weekly unemployment claims. That positive sentiment ultimately outweighed looming concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

The U.S. gross domestic product (G.D.P.) expanded at a 33.1% annualized pace for the third quarter, which was the G.D.P.'s fasted growth on record. The fresh reading came after a 31.4% drop in the second quarter and was better than consensus economist estimates for a growth of only 32%. The rise was driven by a more than 40% jump in personal consumption, as consumer spending recovered following stay-at-home orders. However, the overall U.S. G.D.P. level still remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that 751,000 people filed for first time unemployment claims for the week ended Oct. 24, a decrease from the week prior and better than the 770,000 expected by economists. Continuing jobless claims also improved to 7.756 million, falling from the previous week's upwardly revised total of 8.465 million.

Here's how the market settled on Thursday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +1.20% or +39.12 points to 3,310.15

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.53% or +139.49 points to 26,659.44

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +1.64% or +180.72 points to 11,185.59

For Major Stock News, tech giants lead Thursday's market rebound, with Alphabet (GOOG  ) (GOOGL  ), Amazon (AMZN  ), Apple (AAPL  ), Facebook (FB  ) and Twitter (TWTR  ) gaining ahead of their quarterly earnings reports. Pinterest (PINS  ) soared nearly 27% following the stock's better-than-expected third quarter earnings. Netflix (NFLX  ) gained in afternoon trading as the streaming service revealed that its subscription pricing for its standard and premium packages.

For Sector Performance, ten out of the 11 sectors of the S&P finished higher at the end of Thursday's session. Energy (XLE  ) was the surprise leader, gaining over 3%, with Communication Services (XLC  ) and Materials (XLB  ) also lead above 2%. Health Care (XLV  ) was the along loser, falling over 0.7%.

For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) continued to rise on Thursday as increase coronavirus cases in Europe and fresh lockdown continued to harm economic recovery outlooks. The dollar index rose 0.6% against other global currencies at 93.94. Gold (GLD  ) prices fell to a one month low on Thursday as the greenback continued to strengthen as multiple market risks harmed sentiment. Spot gold fell 0.4% lower at $1,869.22 per ounce, while gold futures settled 0.6% lower at $1,868 per ounce. Crude oil futures fell over 3% on Thursday, extending Wednesday's 5% decline as renewed coronavirus lockdowns harmed oil demand outlooks. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO  ) fell 3.76% lower to $37.65 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) slipped 3.26% to $36.17 per barrel.

For Friday, an array of fresh economic data for September and October is slated to report, including numbers on consumer sentiment, consumer spending, personal income and core inflation. Companies like ExxonMobil (XOM  ) and Honeywell (HON  ) are also scheduled to report quarterly earnings.