U.S. markets surge Thursday

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- A drop in first-time jobless claims and increased productivity helped push U.S. stocks over the 10,000 point mark Thursday.

The Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to 512,000 in the week ending Oct. 31. The department also said productivity shot up 9.5 percent in the third quarter, beating expectations by 3.2 percentage points.

Wednesday's Federal Reserve announcement that it would keep bank-to-bank lending rates unchanged sent stocks tumbling but confidence returned Thursday with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining more than 200 points, the most since mid-July.

By close, the DJIA rose 2.08 percent, adding 203.82 points to 10,005.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 1.92 percent, 20.13 points, to 1,066.63. The Nasdaq composite index added 49.80 points, 2.42 percent, to 2,105.32.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,495 stocks advanced and 542 declined on a volume of 4.8 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell 3/32 to yield 3.529 percent.

The euro fell to $1.487 from Wednesday's $1.4867. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 90.71 yen from Wednesday's 80.59 yen.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index lost 1.29 percent, 126.87, to 9,717.44.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 index rose 0.35 percent, 17.75, to 5,125.64.