US STOCKS-Dow wraps up strongest three days since 1931

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* Weekly jobless claims rise to record 3.28 mln
* Airlines surge on $58 bln industry aid package
* S&P 500 set for third straight session of gains
* Indexes: Dow +6.38%, S&P 500 +6.24%, Nasdaq +5.60%

(Updates to close)
By Noel Randewich
March 26 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
wrapped up its strongest three days in nine decades on Thursday
as record weekly U.S. jobless claims came in below investors'
worst fears and the focus stayed on an unprecedented $2 trillion
stimulus awaiting approval by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Dow was up 21% from its Monday low, establishing it in a
bull market, according to a widely used definition. It was the
Dow's strongest three-day percentage increase since 1931.
The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment
benefits surged to 3.28 million last week as state-wide
lockdowns brought the economy to a halt and unleashed a wave of
layoffs. The median expectation of analysts polled by Reuters was for
1 million claims, but the top end of the forecast was as high as
4 million.
Expectations are high that the U.S. House of Representatives
will pass the stimulus measure to support distressed industries,
including airlines, after the Senate cleared the proposal.
It would flood the country with cash in an effort to stem
the crushing economic impact of an intensifying pandemic that
has killed about 1,000 and infected nearly 70,000 people in the
United States. As well as the Dow, the S&P 500 .SPX index logged three
straight day of gains for the first time since mid-February,
before coronavirus fears stopped Wall Street's 11-year bull
market. Since Monday, the S&P 500 has surged about 17%, although
it remains down 22% from its Feb. 19 record high.
"It's encouraging to see people buying a day after a big up
day because we hadn't seen that in a month," said Randy
Frederick, vice president of trading & derivatives at Charles
Schwab. "That doesn't guarantee that the bottom is in, but it is
indicative of a bottoming process."
Boeing Co BA.N rose 14%, boosted by a $58 billion
provision for the aerospace industry in the latest aid bill.
Boeing has surged over 90% in the past four sessions.
Adding to upbeat sentiment, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome
Powell said the central bank stood ready to act "aggressively"
to shore up credit in the market on top of the unprecedented
policy easing announced on Monday. "He said the Fed is not going to run out of ammunition and
that the committee still has policy room for more action," said
Charalambos Pissouros, senior market analyst at JFD Group in
Cyprus.
"By saying that he raises the question - will they go for
negative interest rates?"
Many analysts expect more wild market swings, with
macroeconomic indicators likely to worsen heading into the
second quarter as a breakdown in business activity and fears of
corporate defaults foreshadow a deep global recession.
The CBOE volatility index .VIX fell 2.9 points, but was
still near levels far above those in 2018 and 2019.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI jumped 6.38% to end
at 22,552.17 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX surged 6.24% to
2,630.07.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 5.6% to 7,797.54.