U.S. stocks advance as tech shares rebound

U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday, buoyed by a powerful surge in technology equities led by Microsoft after the software giant posted record quarterly cloud revenue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 613.92 points, or 1.19 percent, to 52,208.06. The benchmark S and P 500 added 121.48 points, or 1.66 percent, to 7,437.63, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index soared 679.24 points, or 2.78 percent, to 25,122.18.

Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed in positive territory. Technology and consumer discretionary led the advancing groups, climbing 5.24 percent and 1.57 percent, respectively. On the losing side, communication services and consumer staples led the decliners, sliding 2.52 percent and 2.24 percent.

U.S. stocks advance as tech shares rebound

The U.S. dollar fell in late trading on Thursday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropped 1.01 percent to 99.868 at 15:00. (1900 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro increased to 1.1535 U.S. dollars from 1.1452 U.S. dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.3476 U.S. dollars from 1.3364 U.S. dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 158.93 Japanese yen, lower than 163.32 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar dropped to 0.8040 Swiss francs from 0.8149 Swiss francs, and it declined to 1.3996 Canadian dollars from 1.4040 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar fell to 9.5189 Swedish kronor from 9.6434 Swedish kronor.

U.S. dollar ticks down