NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks posted a decent rally on Thursday with all the major indices making good ground, while the U.S. dollar came under major selling pressure.

"Collectively, financial markets are pricing in the best of both worlds, a recession that allows rates to be low and brings inflation down sharply, yet one that does not have a massively negative effect on corporate earnings," Barclays analyst Ajay Rajadhyaksha said in a note circulated on Thursday.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 87.24 points or 0.73 percent to 12,013.47.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 141.43 points or 0.43 percent to 32,859.03.

The Standard and Poor's 500 increased 23.02 points or 0.57 percent to 4,050.83.

On foreign exchange markets, the U.S. dollar lumped almost across the board. Only the Japanese yen lost ground, falling 0.25 percent to 132.53, approaching the U.S. close Thursday.

The euro starred with a 0.58 percent increase to 1.0906, not far short of its 1.0925 high for the day.

The Canadian dollar continued its recent rally, adding 0.25 percent to 1.35244.

The Swiss franc firmed 0.48 percent to 0.9140.

Among the commodity currencies, the Australian dollar jumped 0.40% to 0.6711, while the New Zealand dollar gained 0.66 percent to 0.62647.

On international equity markets, the major indices finished mixed on Thursday. In Europe, the ESTX 50 PR.EUR gained 1.28 percent, or 54.15 points, to close at 4,285.42, while the Euronext 100 Index rose by 0.97 percent, or 12.96 points, to close at 1,350.53. The BEL 20 in Brussels also gained 0.87 percent, or 32.63 points, to close at 3,777.44.

In London, the FTSE 100 index rose by 0.74 percent, or 56.16 points, to close at 7,620.43. Meanwhile, in Frankfurt, the DAX PERFORMANCE-INDEX gained 1.26 percent, or 193.62 points, to finish at 15,522.40. The CAC 40 in Paris also rose by 1.06 percent, or 76.38 points, to close at 7,263.37.

In Russia, the MOEX Russia Index fell by 0.19 percent, or 4.14 points, to close at 2,222.51.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell by 0.36 percent, or 100.85 points, to close at 27,782.93. In Hong Kong, the HANG SENG INDEX rose by 0.58 percent, or 116.73 points, to close at 20,309.13.

In China, the SSE Composite Index gained 0.65 percent, or 21.19 points, to close at 3,261.25, while the Shenzhen Index rose by 0.62 percent, or 71.92 points, to close at 11,651.83.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index STI fell by 0.16 percent, or 5.36 points, to close at 3,257.18.

In India, the S&P BSE SENSEX rose by 0.60 percent, or 346.37 points, to close at 57,960.09. However, in Indonesia, the IDX COMPOSITE fell by 0.45 percent, or 30.48 points, to close at 6,808.95.

In Malaysia, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 0.30 percent, or 4.26 points, to close at 1,424.61.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.02 percent, or 72.00 points, to close at 7,122.30, while the ALL ORDINARIES rose by 1.06 percent, or 76.40 points, to close at 7,312.40.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 INDEX GROSS rose by 1.67 percent, or 196.42 points, to close Thursday at 11,933.17.