US Stocks rebound after ugly sell-off (ext)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks snapped back Thursday from a steep sell-off a day earlier, as Italian bond yields eased slightly and initial unemployment claims reached a 7-month low.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 113 points, or 1%, the S&P 500 (SPX) added 11 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) edged up 4 points, or 0.1%,

"Investors are looking at the news out of Europe bit by bit, piece by piece," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "The end of the world which seemed so near yesterday may not actually be that close."

An upbeat report on the job market and solid earnings from Cisco also lifted the mood on Wall Street, said Detrick.

"There's a lot of disagreement among European officials on how to deal with this crisis," said Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading. "Investors see that there's no united front, and that weighs on confidence and makes markets nervous."

Wall Street's fear gauge, the VIX (VIX), slipped almost 9% Thursday, but remained above 33. Any reading above 30 signals investor worry.

The dollar lost ground against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for December delivery rose $2.04 to $97.78 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery fell $32 to 1,759.60 an ounce.