•The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 1,000 points for the first time on Wednesday, leading a broad Wall Street rebound after a report that holiday sales were the strongest in years helped mollify concerns about the health of the economy.

In a dramatic session that also saw the benchmark S&P 500 come within a whisker of dropping into bear market territory, oil prices surged, boosting sentiment for risk assets such as stocks and underpinning a 6.2 percent gain for energy shares .SPNY.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 1,086.25 points, or 4.98 percent, to 22,878.45, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 116.6 points, or 4.96 percent, to 2,467.7, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 361.44 points, or 5.84 percent, to 6,554.36.

• Shares in Asia mostly gained on Thursday following an overnight surge in stocks on Wall Street, with all three major indexes stateside posting gains of more than 4.9 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 surged 3.53 percent in early trade while the Topix jumped 3.76 percent as the two indexes climbed for the second-straight day after their Christmas Day tumble.

Reference: CNBC