Wall Street started October and the fourth quarter with a strong start as market optimism was bolstered by U.S. economic stimulus hopes and positive job market recovery signs. Investors are so hopeful that new stimulus will come from Congress in the near-term that extended talks and pushed back voting timelines on the House's new bill did little to harm gains.

The Labor Department's weekly jobless claims for the week ended Sept. 26 came at below consensus expectations at 837,000, below the critical 1 million mark and last week's data. Continuing unemployment claims, which lag behind weekly data, also fell below the level of 12 million, which was better than expected and demonstrates some recovery.

Yet, some economic data released Thursday fell below expectations. The Institute for Supply Management's monthly manufacturing purchasing managers' index showed deceleration for September. The index's new reading of 55.4 edged down from August's 56.0, missing consensus expectations for a rise of 56.5 for September. The Bureau of Economic Analysis's report on U.S. personal income also dropped more than expected in August, slipping 2.7% month over month. Personal spending data, however, exceeded expectations with a 1.0% rise in August, but decelerated from July's rate of 1.5%.

Here's how the market settled on Thursday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.53% or +17.78 points to 3,380.78

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.13% or +35.20 points to 27,816.90

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +1.42% or +159.00 points to 11,326.51

For Major Stock News, Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY  ) was one the the top gainers during the session after the company reported strong quarterly earnings, reporting its first same-store sales increase in four years and an online business growth of over 80%. Mega-cap tech shares popped with the broader market: Amazon (AMZN  ), Apple (AAPL  ), Facebook (FB  ), Google (GOOGL  ), Microsoft (MSFT  ) and Netflix (NFLX  ). Marathon Petroleum (MPC  ) slumped after the major oil refiner disclosed that it will be cutting 12% of its workforce.

For Sector Performance, industries mostly gained throughout Thursday's session, with only Energy -3.13%, Materials -1.39%, Health Care -0.47% and Industrials -0.30% falling lower. The positive performance gains were as follows: Real Estate +1.55%, Consumer Discretionary +1.52%, Communication Services +1.37%, Utilities +1.02%, Information Technology +0.96%, Consumer Staples +0.50% and Financials +0.22%.

For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) fell to a more than one-week low against other rival currencies as U.S. stimulus optimism drove investors towards risker currency trades. Gold (GLD  ) prices rose back above the $1,900 level also alongside renewed stimulus hopes and on the back on the weakening dollar. Spot gold climbed 1.2% to $1,907.46 per ounce, while gold futures settled 1.1% higher at $1,916.30 per ounce. Crude oil futures sharply dropped on Thursday as more coronavirus worries steeped into demand outlooks. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO  ) slipped 3.6% to $40.78 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI  ) declined 3.8% to $38.71 per barrel.

For Friday, market participants will focus on September's jobs report, with consensus economists expecting growth to slow to 800,000 jobs for the month.