Stocks ended higher on Thursday, lifted by a burst of late-day buying spurred by bargain hunting among telecommunication and technology names, which were hammered in recent sessions.

Much of the rally was tied to a recovery in optic-telecom gear maker JDS Uniphase, which ended the regular Nasdaq trading session with a 4.8 per cent gain at $74-7/16, climbing from an early drop to $62.

As trading wore on, the cloud hanging over JDS Uniphase and similar stocks lifted on optimism about the company's earnings, which came after the close.

The Nasdaq composite index closed up 42.58 points, or 1.32 per cent, at 3,272.15, climbing back from a drop of 148 points, according to the latest data.