U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as investors bet the U.S. economic downturn may be easing following reports on fourth-quarter economic growth and weekly jobless claims that landed roughly in line with expectations.

Standouts in the broad run-up included shares of Best Buy , up 11.3 percent to $37.24 after the electronics chain’s quarterly profit topped estimates and its yearly outlook boosted optimism about consumer spending.

Retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc was among the top boosts on the Dow, rising more than 2 percent to $52.88, while the S&P retail index gained nearly 5 percent.

Shares of natural resources companies rose along with higher commodity prices. Shares of steel maker Nucor rose 5.6 percent to $41.25 and U.S. Steel Corp was up 5.9 percent to $24.86.

“Obviously the tide is shifting. We’ve gone from every piece of news being incrementally bad