Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble Co. announced Thursday that A.G. Lafley is returning to take over the reigns of the company to succeed Robert McDonald, who is retiring on June 30 after 33 years of service. Lafley will take over as chairman, president and chief executive officer of the company, effective immediately. He has also been elected to the Board of Directors.

In another upbeat sign for the U.S. housing market, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing that new home sales came in well above economist estimates in the month of April. The report showed that new home sales climbed 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000 in April from the revised March rate of 444,000.

President Barack Obama delivered a highly-anticipated speech on his administration's evolving counterterrorism policies on Thursday, suggesting that the U.S. needs to move away from a "boundless global war on terror." More than a decade after the 9/11 attacks, Obama argued that the terrorist threat has shifted and evolved.

After moving sharply lower at the start of trading on Thursday, stocks showed a substantial recovery attempt over the course of the trading day. The rebound came as upbeat housing data helped offset worries about the Federal Reserve. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day but still ended the session in the red.