Wall Street rebounded on Thursday, led by technology stocks, as easing oil prices, lower US Treasury yields and stronger labour market data helped investors look beyond the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate hike in more than three years.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.69% to 26,418.30, while the S&P 500 gained 1.14% to 7,637.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.62% to 51,779.85.
Technology stocks led gains across the S&P 500, while chip stocks and gold and silver miners each rose more than 3%. Interest rate-sensitive banks also stabilised after falling 2.3% in the previous session, with the sector index gaining 0.2%.
Oil prices fell to a one-week low after reports that Saudi Arabia was moving additional crude through Oman eased concerns over supply disruptions. However, the wider Middle East conflict continued to keep energy supply risks in focus.
The retreat in oil prices also helped ease concerns over inflation, while the 10-year US Treasury yield declined after climbing above 5% earlier in the week.
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, its first increase since July 2023, and signalled that further tightening could follow this year. Markets are now pricing in a 53.1% chance of another 25-basis-point hike at the October meeting, up from 27.2% a week earlier.
“We’re seeing interest in the areas of the market that have been hit hard in anticipation of this Fed rate hike,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.
“And people sort of stepping in, doing a little bit of buying on the pullback.”
US labour market data also provided support, with initial jobless claims falling to near their lowest levels since 1969, reinforcing expectations that the economy remains resilient.
Meanwhile, crypto-linked stocks rallied after the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced a five-year exemption for tokenised stock trading. Circle Internet Group and Robinhood gained 5.8% and 5.2% respectively, while Coinbase rose 5.8%.
Among individual decliners, CoreWeave fell 4.2% after announcing plans to raise capital through stock and convertible bond offerings, while Fluence Energy tumbled 15.4% after cutting its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast.
