US stocks traded higher Thursday, trying to extend Wednesday's late-session recovery as oil bounced from multiyear lows.

Also supporting gains were morning comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi that raised hopes of more stimulus.

The Dow Jones industrial average added more than 100 points in mid-morning trade, with Home Depot contributing the most to gains. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) briefly dipped 2 percent and struggled to hold higher after helping lead the Wednesday afternoon recovery in stocks.

Energy briefly rose nearly 2 percent to lead the S&P 500 back above its August low of 1,867 in intraday trade. The index closed below that level Wednesday.

Oil continued to trade near lows not seen since 2003, with US crude trying for gains, up about half a percent near USD 28.50 a barrel as of 10:06 am ET. Weekly oil inventories are due later in the morning and could cause more volatility in oil prices.

"I think oil's first, the trading range (in the S&P 500) is second, and what goes on in Asia is third," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth. "I think it's in that order. If oil can stabilize and not present an issue for the day then it becomes a range focus."

Stocks closed well off session lows Wednesday, after the S&P 500 held the 1,800 level. However, the index still closed at its lowest level since April 2014. The Nasdaq composite also ended at its lowest level since 2014, while the Dow closed nearly 250 points lower at its lowest since August.

As of morning trade Thursday, the major US indexes were down about 9 percent or more for the year so far and more than 10 percent below their 52-week intraday highs, in correction territory.

"There's a lot of cross-currents. My view is this is a growth scare, not a recession. The growth scares are magnified by moves in financial markets. If (a recession) is not the case, you 're starting to see some new values emerge," said Aaron Clark, portfolio manager at GW&K Investment Management.

He said strength in the banking sector supported a view that fundamentals remain intact. "For this to really have a negative transmission to the real economy, you need the banking system to be a risk," he said.

Read More Oil in charge, short-term relief coming for stocks?

US stock index futures spiked Thursday morning, with Dow futures briefly up 100 points, on European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's remarks that downside risks have increased again and the central bank needs to review, possibly reconsider policy stance at the next meeting. Draghi also said the central bank has the power, willingness and determination to act, noting it has plenty of instruments, according to Dow Jones.

"If Draghi is actually going to talk about more liquidity, there's a potential... that maybe the Federal Reserve is going to stop talking about raising interest rates," Pavlik said of the initial gains in futures.

European stocks briefly jumped more than 2 percent after Draghi's comments, before holding about half a percent higher.

On the data front, weekly jobless claims came in at 293,000, a six-month high. The January Philadelphia Fed index showed minus 3.5.

Treasury yields held lower, with the 2-year yield near 0.81 percent and the 10-year yield near 1.97 percent, as of 9:48 am ET.

The US dollar index held slightly higher, while the yen was at 117 yen against the greenback as of 9:49 am ET. The euro held just above USD 1.08 after briefly falling below on Draghi's comments.

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