New York  - The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 2 per cent on Thursday for its biggest gain since July, pushing the US index back above 10,000 points amid better-than-expected economic data on jobs and productivity.

The Labour Department said weekly unemployment claims fell to 512,000 from 530,000 the previous week. The productivity of US workers increased at the quickest rate in six years.

The department's highly anticipated monthly unemployment figures will be released Friday morning. The jobless rate stood at a 28-year high of 9.8 per cent in September.

Technology shares rose as networking equipment giant Cisco reported first-quarter earnings late Wednesday that beat forecasts. Cisco's Chief Executive Officer John Chambers said an economic recovery was "well underway" on the United States.

The blue-chip Dow jumped 203.82 points, or 2.08 per cent, to 10,005.96. The broader Standard and Poor's 500 Index surged 20.13 points, or 1.92 per cent, to 1,066.63. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 49.8 points, or 2.42 per cent, to 2,105.32.

The US currency was virtually unchanged against the euro at 67.24 euro cents, compared to 67.25 euro cents on Wednesday. The dollar edged up against the Japanese currency to 90.75 yen from 90.69 yen. (dpa)