Dow, S&P 500 post 2014's biggest one-day percentage gain

Reuters
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange February 4, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose the most so far this year on Thursday after a drop in applications for unemployment insurance boosted confidence in the economy, and as Disney's results overshot expectations. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 187.14 points or 1.21 percent, to 15,627.37, the S&P 500 gained 21.76 points or 1.24 percent, to 1,773.4 and the Nasdaq Composite added 45.57 points or 1.14 percent, to 4,057.122. (Reporting By Angela Moon; Editing by Nick Zieminski)