The Dow just turned positive for the year
On Thursday, the Dow was up as much as 165 points in morning trade, taking the blue chip index back into positive territory for the year.
The S&P 500, up 17 points on Thursday, also moved back into positive territory for the year.
The Nasdaq was also higher on Thursday, up as much as 32 points.
In January, the Dow lost more than 3.5% as stocks got off to a rocky start for the second straight year.
The big news in markets on Thursday was out of Europe, where news regarding Greece's bailout negotiations with the ECB continues to roll in after the ECB last night said Greek sovereign bonds could no longer be posted as collateral.
On the economic data front in the US, the weekly report on initial jobless claims showed claimed rose to 278,000 for the week ended January 31, though this was less than the 290,000 that was expected.
The trade deficit also widened more than expected in December.