Tech Stocks Lead Wall Street Rally as Bond Yields Ease
Stocks on Wall Street closed higher Thursday as bond yields eased further and big technology companies rallied, helping the market recoup its losses from earlier in the week. The S&P 500 rose 1.1%, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.2% and the Nasdaq composite closing 1.4% higher.
The rally was led by big technology and communication services stocks, whose huge valuations tend to give them more influence over the broader market's direction. Microsoft rose 2.7%, Apple gained 1%, and Meta climbed 3%. Nvidia, a giant chip maker, also rose 1.8% after announcing it would buy AI platform Hugging Face for $13 billion.
Oil prices initially ticked higher due to the intensified US war with Iran but ended up little changed. However, rising oil prices have added to existing inflationary pressures and exacerbated a bond-market sell-off earlier this week.