Wall Street rallied more than 2 percent on Thursday as strong U.S. economic data and hints that a September interest-rate hike was unlikely fueled optimism that the worst of recent market turmoil was over.
The Dow Jones industrial average scored its biggest two-day percentage gain since 2008, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite racked up their biggest two-day increases since 2009.
"The worst is probably behind us but it's going to take a while before we get back to normal and we might still see some downward risk," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.