U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, recovering part of the previous session’s losses as Treasury yields and oil prices fell and major technology shares advanced.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 316.14 points, or 0.61%, to finish at 51,778.04. The S&P 500 gained 1.14% to 7,637.76, while the Nasdaq Composite added 1.69% to close at 26,418.30.
Technology stocks led the rebound. Among the “Magnificent Seven,” Nvidia and Amazon each climbed more than 2%, while Microsoft rose 1.5%. Other artificial-intelligence-linked names also advanced, with Qualcomm up 2% and Intel jumping 7%.
Treasury yields moved lower as well. The 10-year yield fell back below 5%, dropping more than 7 basis points to 4.93%. It had moved back above that level on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.
Oil prices declined, adding support for equities. U.S. crude settled down 0.51% at $101.91 per barrel, while Brent fell 0.95% to $104.82. According to CNBC, concerns over supply disruptions eased after reports that Saudi Arabia had decided to make additional crude cargoes available to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers near the Sohar port in Oman.
Thursday’s rebound followed Wednesday’s sell-off after the Federal Reserve raised the overnight federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point. Policymakers also signaled that another increase could come later this year, while Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said inflation remained too high.
Robert Conzo, CEO of The Wealth Alliance, said the market’s reaction could be summed up in one word: “relief.” In his view, investors welcomed the fact that the Fed is addressing a persistent inflation problem.
At the same time, he warned that markets could still face “extreme” volatility depending on how the conflict in the Middle East develops. If oil prices stay elevated, he said, inflation pressure will continue to pass through to retailers and consumers, making inflation harder to slow.
