NEW YORK, April 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday with Nasdaq notching record close, as investors digest a batch of corporate earnings reports and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's talk on tax reform.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 174.22 points, or 0.85 percent, to 20,578.71. The S&P 500 added 17.67 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,355.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 53.74 points, or 0.92 percent, to 5,916.78.
Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that the administration will unveil a tax plan very soon, according to media reports.
Shares of American Express closed up 5.9 percent as the major boost to the Dow, after it reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
After Wednesday's closing bell, American Express reported first quarter net income of 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, and diluted earnings per share were 1.34 dollars.
Shares of Verizon, a Dow member, dropped more than one percent Thursday after the tech giant posted worse-than-expected quarterly results.
On the economic front, in the week ending April 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 244,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week' s unrevised level of 234,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
The 4-week moving average was 243,000, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 247,250.
