A return to the rally

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks surged Thursday morning, as investors jumped back into equities after the previous session's modest selloff, spurred on by rallying overseas markets and some revived enthusiasm.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 90.28 to 12,282.73, Charts) gained 0.7 percent almost 90 minutes into the session.

The broader S&P 500 (up 13.91 to 1,405.88, Charts) index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (up 24.47 to 2,399.11, Charts) composite both gained around 1 percent.

Stocks slipped Wednesday, but declines were pretty modest considering the previous session's big runup.

That modest retreat after a big rally helped set up stocks for another advance early Thursday.

Helping early sentiment: strength in international markets. European markets rallied at midday, while most Asian markets ended higher.

In corporate news, a variety of retailers reported February sales at stores open a year or more, also known as same-store sales.

Among the standouts, Wal-Mart Stores (down $0.09 to $47.84, Charts) said same-store sales rose 0.9 percent, missing forecasts for a rise of 1.5 percent. Separately, the Dow component announced that it was raising its annual dividend by 31 percent. Shares crept lower.

On the upside, high-end retailer Nordstrom (up $2.64 to $53.06, Charts) said sales jumped 9.1 percent, sending shares up 4.5 percent in early trade Thursday.

Among other movers, Ford Motor (up $0.33 to $7.95, Charts) jumped 4 percent in active trading after Credit Suisse First Boston raised its estimates to "neutral" from "underperform," Reuters reported.

Blue chip gains were broad based, with 28 out of 30 Dow stocks rising. The biggest gainers included the Dow's financial components Citigroup (up $0.85 to $51.07, Charts), JP Morgan (up $0.89 to $49.25, Charts) and American Express (up $0.99 to $56.85, Charts).

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers five to one on volume of 410 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by close to three to one on volume of 510 million shares.

A report released in the early morning showed that the number of Americans filing new weekly jobless claims fell more than expected. However, the report was overshadowed by anticipation about Friday's monthly employment figures.

In currency trading, the dollar rallied versus the yen and the euro. The European currency was weaker after the European Central Bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.75 percent. The Bank of England held rates steady at 5.25 percent.

Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 4.53 percent from 4.48 percent late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

U.S. light crude oil for April delivery rose 3 cents to $61.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for April delivery added $3.30 to $656.20 an ounce.

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