(Close): US stock markets finished Thursday higher, buoyed by corporate earnings and stabilising oil prices.
The Dow Jones, external rose 225.48 points to finish at 17,416.85.
The S&P 500, external index gained 19.09 points to 2,021.25 while the tech-focused Nasdaq, external added 45.41 points to close at 4,683.41.
McDonald's shares rose 5% on the news that its chief executive, Don Thompson, is stepping down after two and a half years in the job.
He will be replaced by British-born Steve Easterbrook, the company's current chief brand officer, in March.
Shares in Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba fell 8.8% after its latest results disappointed. Revenues in the final three months of the year - the firm's third fiscal quarter - rose 40%, but analysts had been expecting more.
Ford shares rose 2.7% after the carmaker's latest results. Fourth quarter net income fell to $52m, down from $3.07bn a year earlier when the figure was inflated by a $2.1bn tax credit. The latest figure was also affected by an $800m charge to cover currency controls in Venezuela.
