New York, March 18 - US stocks rebounded Thursday on positive economic reports, a day after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Nasdaq erased most of gains in 2011.

After the big sell-off, stocks opened higher Thursday with the natural resource shares leading the market as commodity prices rebounded. The market during the day remained positive despite concerns about Japan's situation, Xinhua reported.

On the economic front, the Labour Department said Thursday that the consumer price index rose 0.5 percent in February. The figure was the largest increase since June 2009.

It said initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 385,000.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 161.29 points, or 1.39 percent, to 11,774.59. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 16. 84 points, or 1.34 percent, to 1,273.72. The Nasdaq rose 19.23 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,636.05. (IANS)