About 50 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 15,867.79, up 101.05 points (0.64 per cent). Heading today, the Dow was off 9.5 per cent for the year following the rout of early 2016.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 10.40 (0.56 per cent) at 1,869.73 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 21.52 (0.48 per cent) at 4,493.20.
European stocks rallied after ECB President Mario Draghi said at a news conference that the central bank would review its policies in March and could boost its stimulus program.
The comments soothed investors shaken by yesterday's rout that continued today in Asia.
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The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 3.23 per cent as worries over the state of the world's number-two economy overshadowed a huge cash injection into the financial system by China's central bank.
Draghi "met the minimum expectation of at least floating the thought that there is potentially more room for policy accommodation. That could help promote some bargain-hunting activity," said Briefing.Com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
Verizon rose 2.1 per cent as it reported USD 5.5 billion in fourth-quarter earnings, compared with a loss of USD 2.1 billion in the year-ago period, besting expectations. The telecom giant expects 2016 earnings comparable to those of 2015.
Freight rail company Union Pacific slid 6.3 per cent after reporting fourth-quarter earnings fell to USD 1.1 billion as business volumes declined nine percent.
United Continental rose 1.6 per cent after reporting fourth-quarter earnings of USD 823 million, much above the USD 28 million in the year-ago period. United also announced an order for 40 new 737-700 aircraft from Boeing worth about USD 3.2 billion.