NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks ended solidly higher on Thursday (June 25), winning back some of the prior session's losses with banking shares jumping on the easing of regulations imposed after the 2008 crisis.

After a choppy session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 25,745.60, up 1.2 per cent or around 300 points after losing 700 points on Wednesday.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.1 per cent to 3,083.76, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.1 per cent to 10,017.00.

The back and forth between Wednesday and Thursday could hearken a volatile period for stocks as investors contend with significant coronavirus case increases that have slowed the reopening of the economy in some states.

There were fresh signs on Thursday of the severity of the situation in terms of public health, with Texas and Florida both pausing their reopenings due to big increases in cases.

But Wall Street investors have repeatedly bought into pullbacks in recent weeks in the wake of massive stimulus measures that have left markets flush with liquidity, and that trend held again on Thursday.

Large banks enjoyed big gains, with JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America all winning at least 3.5 percent as bank regulators eased the Volcker rule, which was enacted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to limit speculative trading.

Disney fell 0.6 per cent as the California Disneyland theme park and resort delayed its reopening due to a rise in Covid-19 cases in the state.

Macy's shed 4.1 per cent after announcing it will cut 3,900 management and corporate jobs as it cuts costs amid a weak retail environment.