Stocks extended gains on Thursday following a strong 30-year bond auction from the U.S. Treasury Department.

All three major U.S. stock indexes gained more than 1 percent briefly to hit session highs right after the auction results and trimmed those gains slightly a few minutes later. Earlier, the stock market rose as oil and other commodity prices jumped, while retail sales and weekly jobless claims data increased hopes for an economic recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> added 95.38 points, or 1.09 percent, to 8,834.40, off a session high at 8,853.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 12.43 points, or 1.32 percent, to 951.58, slightly below a session high at 953.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 16.24 points, or 0.88 percent, to 1,869.32, off a session high at 1,874.73.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Retail sales