The U.S. Federal Reserve said production fell 0.7 percent in April after an increase of 0.2 percent in March.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 94.28 points, or 0.73 percent, to 12,992.66. The Standard and Poor's 500 index rose 14.91 points, or 1.06 percent, to 1,423.57. The Nasdaq composite index gained 37.03 points, or 1.48 percent, to 2,513.88.

On the New York Stock Exchange 2,192 stocks advanced and 911 declined on a volume of 1.195 billion shares traded.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note gained 24/32 to yield 3.828 percent.

The euro traded at $1.545 from Wednesday's $1.5461 and the dollar traded at 104.76 yen from Tuesday's 105.10 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei index rose 0.94 percent or 133.19 points to 14,251.74.

In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 35.80 points to 6,251.80, up 0.58 percent.