Wall Street closed sharply higher on Thursday after optimistic retail earnings outlooks and waning concerns about overly aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve put investors in a buying mood.

All three major US stock indexes posted solid gains, with economically sensitive consumer discretionary and microchip stocks beating the broader market.

The tech-laden Nasdaq surged the most – its 2.7 percent advance was powered by gains for Apple, Tesla and Amazon.

On a weekly basis, the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow are on track to snap their longest losing streaks in decades, during which the benchmark S&P plummeted 14.1 percent. That brought it within striking distance of being confirmed as a bear market.

At current levels, all three indexes are poised to notch their biggest weekly gains since mid-March.

Retailers performed well, with department store operator Macy's jumping 19.3 percent after raising its annual profit forecast.Discount chains Dollar General and Dollar Tree advanced by 13.7 percent and 21.9 percent, respectively, following annual sales forecast hikes.

The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) most recent monetary policy meeting calmed fears that the US central bank could turn more hawkish, a concern which has fed into market volatility in recent weeks.

Economic data released on Thursday, including jobless claims, pending home sales and GDP, brought good news wrapped in bad, suggesting the economy is showing just enough softness to prompt a dovish pivot from the Fed by autumn.

The Dow Jones rose 1.61 percent, to 32,637; the S&P 500 gained 2 percent, to 4,057; and the Nasdaq added 305.91 points, to 11,740. (Reuters)