The Dow roared back to life on Thursday, holding tightly onto its gains amid an impressive comeback from yesterday's variant-induced selloff. The blue-chip index was up more than 700 points at its sessions highs, and managed to wrap up the session with a 617-point gain. The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq also finished with sizable wins of their own, thanks to big surges from airline, casino, and energy stocks.

Better-than-expected jobless data also injected some positivity into the markets today, though investors are still monitoring omicron developments. Specifically, a second case of the Covid-29 strain was reported in Minnesota, in a resident that had recently traveled to New York City.

The Dow Jones Average (DJI - 34,639.79) added 617.8 points or 1.8 % for the day. Boeing (BA) led the gainers, adding 7.5%, while Walmart (WMT) paced the laggards with an 1.2% fall.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 4,577.10) rose 64.1 points, or 1.4% for the day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 15,381.32) jumped 127.3, or 0.8% for the day.

Lastly, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 27.95) fell 3.2 points or 10.2% for the day.

GOLD PRICES PLUMMET AMID WALL STREET'S RECOVERY

Oil prices settled higher on Thursday, after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+) decided to keep the current deal to increase monthly output by 400,000 barrels in January. In response, January-dated crude added 1.4%, or 93 cents, to close at $66.50 per barrel. 

Meanwhile, gold prices fell to settle at their lowest level in more than seven weeks. The yellow metal lost its luster as Wall Street brushed off Covid-19 omicron variant fears. In turn, February-dated gold shed $21.60, or 1.2% to close at $1,762.70 per ounce.