Stocks jumped on Thursday as solid corporate profit reports and a drop in the number of Americans on jobless benefits gave investors reasons to buy equities following the S&P 500's two days of losses.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 83.74 points, or 0.92 percent, to end unofficially at 9,154.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 11.60 points, or 1.19 percent, to finish unofficially at 986.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 16.54 points, or 0.84 percent, to close unofficially at 1,984.30.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)