US stocks pushed higher on Thursday amid speculation of more stimulus from the Federal Reserve after another batch of poor data releases.

Rumours of central bank coordination to head off contagion in the markets took stocks through a roller coaster late in the day, as Greece’s weekend election and next week’s crucial G20 summit kept investors on edge.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 155.53 points, or 1.24 per cent, at 12,651.91.

The S&P 500-stock index advanced 14.22 (1.08 per cent) to 1,329.10, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 17.72 (0.63 per cent) to 2,836.33.

A rise in weekly initial jobless claims and a fall in monthly consumer prices in May for the first time in two years underpinned fresh signs of weakness in the US economy.

“With the US figures this morning, we expect that a stimulus may be announced during the FOMC meeting Wednesday,” said Bart Malek of TD Securities.

“Sentiment seemed to strengthen on hopes that underwhelming data might compel the Fed to implement another round of quantitative easing when they meet next week,” said Briefing.com.

Trade was heavy in Johnson & Johnson, which gained 1.6 per cent after Moody’s raised its rating outlook from negative to neutral.

Home Depot picked up 2.9 per cent and AT&T jumped 2.0 per cent.

Dow member United Technologies rose 0.8 per cent after raising its quarterly dividend.

On the Nasdaq Comcast picked up 2.4 per cent and Starbucks 2.1 per cent, while wireless chip maker Qualcomm sank 3.7 per cent on talk of weaker-than-expected handset sales at its customer Samsung.

Bonds were flat. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond edged higher to 1.61 per cent from 1.60 per cent Wednesday, while the 30-year bond held at 2.71 per cent.

Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.