Microsoft jumps 6.1 per cent after topping consensus estimates for revenue and profit

The results, along with gains for chipmakers, lifted technology stocks up 2.32 per cent. The sector has lost about 10 per cent in October and if losses hold it would be the worst month for the high-growth sector in nearly 10 years.

U.S. stocks gained on Thursday, as strong corporate earnings, including from software company Microsoft and automaker Ford, helped ease nerves following a steep selloff in the prior session that sent the Nasdaq into correction territory.

Microsoft jumped 6.1 per cent after topping consensus estimates for revenue and profit, helped by strong demand for its Azure cloud computing and Office 365 software products.

The results, along with gains for chipmakers, lifted technology stocks up 2.32 per cent. The sector has lost about 10 per cent in October and if losses hold it would be the worst month for the high-growth sector in nearly 10 years.

Ford Motor, which is struggling with sales in China, surged 7.4 per cent as its earnings report raised hopes for a strong finish to the year, while Raytheon up -1.2 percent after the U.S. defence contractor raised its full-year forecast.

The results offered hope to Wall Street, battered this week by a series of sluggish outlooks from manufacturers and chipmakers worried about the impact of tariffs, a slowdown in China on profits and global growth.

That, along with worries ranging from rising borrowing costs and bond yields to Italy's budget and upcoming U.S. mid-term elections, sparked a rout on Wall Street on Wednesday.

"There's a sense of nervousness and caution because a lot of people were caught off guard by the drop yesterday," Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida said.

"At this point, it's all about sentiment. People are looking for things to settle down and I think we need to see more concrete evidence of that."

At 9:59 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 213.46 points, or 0.87 per cent, at 24,796.88, the S&P 500 was up 30.19 points, or 1.14 per cent, at 2,686.29 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 140.58 points, or 1.98 per cent, at 7,248.99.

The newly revamped communication services sector jumped 2.38 per cent, the most among the seven major S&P sectors trading higher.

Twitter rose 18.6 per cent after strong ad sales boosted third-quarter profit, while Comcast gained 18.6 per cent after the media company's quarterly results beat Wall Street estimates.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index rose 1.39 per cent, helped by Xilinx's 15.3 per cent rise, while Intel, AMD's chief rival, gained 2.4 per cent ahead of its quarterly report due after the closing bell.

In contrast, Advanced Micro Devices shares slid 12.5 per cent after the chipmaker forecast fourth-quarter revenue below estimates.

Results from the S&P 500 companies have pushed up third-quarter profit growth estimates to 22.4 per cent from an earlier 21.6 per cent, but the run of dour outlooks has pulled down fourth-quarter growth estimates to 19.5 per cent from 20 per cent, according to Refinitiv data.

Tesla surged 9.1 per cent after the electric carmaker made good on billionaire Chief Executive Elon Musk's promise of a quarterly profit.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.71-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.99-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and 24 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded five new highs and 107 new lows.