Stocks power after Trump says Russia, Saudis will cut oil output; crude soars

Stocks pushed higher Thursday, buoyed after President Donald Trump said Saudi Arabia and Russia had agreed to curb oil production in order to stabilize prices, even after data showed U.S. weekly jobless claims soared to a record.

On Wednesday equities fell sharply to begin the second quarter as investors weighed the start of an onslaught of bad news on the public health front and the economy against hoped-for stimulus as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.