Nasdaq's technology-heavy composite index rose 0.7 percent, the broad S&P 500 index gained 0.9 percent and the Dow Jones industrial index closed up 1.4 percent.
Warner Bros Discovery – which owns HBO Max and CNN – led the broad rise. The company surged 29 percent after reports in the American media that competitor Paramount Skydance is preparing a takeover.
Paramount's share rose 5.9 percent.
Also rising was the hard-pressed electric car manufacturer Tesla, up 6 percent. The CEO and majority owner Elon Musk can once again call himself the world's richest person, a title he lost to Oracle founder Larry Ellison on Wednesday.
Among the relatively few losers, another streaming giant, Netflix, stood out and fell back 3.5 percent.
The Swedish payment giant Klarna was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday and rose 15 percent on the first day of trading after an initial surge. On Thursday, the share fell back, minus 6.7 percent.
Fresh American inflation figures released on Thursday were largely in line with expectations and strengthen the belief that the US central bank Federal Reserve will lower the interest rate next week.
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