US close: Markets finish positive as sentiment improves, tech stocks soar

Wall Street finished in the green on Thursday, after a rally led by technology stocks and as investors digested a possible easing of tensions between Washington and Brussels, as well as the minutes from June’s Federal Reserve meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead 0.75% at 24,356.74, the S&P 500 added 0.86% to 2,736.61, and the Nasdaq 100 was 1.23% higher at 7,101.05.

“The US open did little to disrupt trading on Thursday, the Dow Jones easing itself back in after Wednesday's 4th July celebrations,” said SpreadEx financial analyst Connor Campbell earlier.

Minutes from the FOMC’s June policy meeting were released at 1900 BST, with policy makers acknowledging the negative risks of Washington’s current belligerent trade policy, pointing to the possibility for negative effects on investment and business sentiment.

But despite those headwinds, policymakers still said there wa broad support for “gradual” rate increases, saying that the benchmark federal funds rate could be at or beyond its neutral level “sometime next year”.

Earlier in the day, the US had instructed its ambassador in Germany to try and broker a solution between Berlin and Brussels on auto sector tariffs, according to German daily Handelsblatt.

On the economic side of things, initial jobless claims rose by 3,000 during the week ending on 30 June to reach 231,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, although they remained near multi-decade lows and consultancy ADP reported that non-farm private sector payrolls grew by 177,000 in June, short of forecasts for a 190,000 gain.

The US services sector expanded at a faster pace in June as the non-manufacturing index rose to 59.1 from 58.6 in May, the Institute for Supply Management reported Thursday.

In corporate news, chip-maker Micron Technology gained 2.64% following an announcement that its fourth quarter sales had been hit after its Chinese subsidiaries were slapped with a preliminary injunction by a Chinese court linked to patent infringement disputes.

Facebook stocks rose 2.97% after analysts at BTIG hiked the social media giant's price target to $275.

TiVo shares lost 3.97% after announcing that chief executive Enrique Rodriguez had resigned less than six months after assuming the role, while Aegean Marine Petroleum's stock soared 222.22% after the firm reached a $1bn refinancing deal and potential strategic partnership.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $50.75 2.59%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $61.65 1.97%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $125.00 1.87%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.30 1.71%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $135.86 1.52%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $44.66 1.52%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $36.88 1.46%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $79.22 1.40%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $250.58 1.22%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $141.39 1.12%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $76.55 -2.30%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $220.74 -1.13%
Boeing Co. (BA) $333.20 -0.86%
American Express Co. (AXP) $98.53 -0.47%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $42.56 -0.26%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $124.02 -0.19%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $122.59 -0.15%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $124.94 -0.06%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $105.34 0.01%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $103.72 0.11%

S&P 500 - Risers

Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $15.60 7.55%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $81.82 5.66%
J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $110.64 5.21%
TEGNA Inc (TGNA) $11.38 4.79%
SCANA Corp. (SCG) $40.55 4.54%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $19.37 4.53%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $99.66 4.40%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $5.20 4.21%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $20.81 3.89%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $57.38 3.71%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) $49.49 -3.53%
W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) $297.89 -2.75%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $43.05 -2.73%
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) $22.41 -2.69%
Regions Financial Corp. (RF) $17.46 -2.40%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $76.55 -2.30%
Morgan Stanley (MS) $46.70 -2.14%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $22.07 -2.00%
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) $55.25 -1.90%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $145.85 -1.81%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $99.66 4.40%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $60.13 4.10%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $57.38 3.71%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $66.83 3.34%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $58.61 3.01%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $198.45 2.97%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $171.82 2.73%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $256.26 2.68%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $62.38 2.67%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $52.84 2.64%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $45.16 -2.78%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $296.18 -1.11%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $244.07 -0.96%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $309.16 -0.55%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $105.83 -0.47%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $121.47 -0.44%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $48.61 -0.33%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $42.56 -0.26%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $280.49 -0.10%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $57.64 -0.07%