NEW YORK, March 20 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes posted solid gains Thursday in spite of a report from the Conference Board that the nation's leading economic index had declined in February.
The news of a 0.3 percent decline in February in the Conference's Board's key index was offset by news from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve that an index of mid-Atlantic business activities was minus 17.4, which was better than expected.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 2.16 percent Thursday, up 261.66 points and closed at 12,361.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 31.09 points, up 3.39 percent to 1,309.25. The Nasdaq composite index rose 48.15 points or 2.18 percent to 2,258.11.
On the New York Stock Exchange 2,338 stocks advanced and 825 declined on a volume of 2.768 billion shares traded.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note dropped 4/32 to yield 3.343 percent.
The dollar gained Thursday. The euro traded at $1.5412 from $1.5609 Wednesday, while the dollar traded at 99.29 yen from 98.98 yen Wednesday.
In Asia, stock markets were closed Thursday.
In London, the FTSE 100 index dropped slightly, down 0.12 percent to 5,539.10 points, off 6.50 points.
