S&P 500 jumps 1% to a record as Biden signs new stimulus, Nasdaq rallies 2.5%; European markets close higher as ECB vows to ramp up bond buying 
The Dow Jones U.S. stocks climbed to record highs Thursday as the comeback in tech shares resumed, while the signing of additional fiscal stimulus gave sentiment a further boost. 
The S&P 500 climbed 1.3% to reach an all-time high, its first record since Feb. 16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 350 points to hit another intraday record. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.5% amid a rotation back into tech shares. Tesla was up 4%. Apple, Facebook and Netflix all jumped at least 2%, while Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft shares were also higher. 
Chip stocks jumped sharply Thursday after China’s semiconductor trade association formed a new group to work with their U.S. counterparts to ease recent trade tensions between the two countries. Nvidia and Broadcom jumped 4%, while Xilinx and AMD popped 6.6% and 5.3%, respectively. 
On the data front, investors cheered a slightly better-than-expected reading on weekly jobless claims. The Labor Department reported that first-time filings for unemployment insurance in the week ended March 6 totaled a seasonally adjusted 712,000, below the Dow Jones estimate of 725,000. 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.5%, with tech stocks jumping 2.3% and banks falling 1.6%. 
Following its latest monetary policy meeting, the ECB said it expects to increase its bond purchases “significantly” next quarter, after borrowing costs rose in the region. 
WPP relaunched its buyback program after new client wins and cost cutting helped the advertising giant to stronger-than-expected full-year earnings in 2020. However, some analysts remain cautious on the company’s outlook. 
Source: CNBC