U.S. Stocks Extend Rebound As Tech Leaders Continue To Recover

Market Performance - Stocks showed a strong upward movement, extending the rebound from earlier sessions, with major averages offsetting previous week’s weakness [1] - The tech-heavy Nasdaq reached new highs, closing up 301.26 points or 1.3 percent at 23,307.62, while the S&P 500 rose by 59.74 points or 0.9 percent to 6,834.50, and the Dow increased by 183.04 points or 0.4 percent to 48,134.89 [2] - Over the past two days, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 turned positive for the week, with the Nasdaq climbing by 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 up by 0.1 percent, while the Dow slid by 0.7 percent [2] Company News - Oracle shares surged by 6.6 percent following a memo from TikTok CEO indicating an agreement to sell its U.S. operations to a joint venture that includes Oracle and Silver Lake [3] - Micron Technology also experienced a strong upward movement after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results and guidance [4] - Nvidia's stock jumped by 3.9 percent, influenced by a report of a review by the Trump administration that could allow shipments of its AI chips to China [4] Economic Indicators - The National Association of Realtors reported a modest increase in existing home sales by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.13 million in November, following a 1.5 percent increase in October [5] - Economists had anticipated a larger increase of 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.15 million [6] - The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for December was revised downward to 52.9 from a preliminary 53.3, although it remains above November's reading of 51.0 [7][8] Sector Performance - Biotechnology stocks performed well, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index surging by 3.1 percent [8] - Semiconductor and networking stocks continued their upward trend, contributing to the Nasdaq's rise [8] - Gold stocks saw significant strength, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index increasing by 2.7 percent due to rising gold prices [9] International Markets - Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region mostly moved higher, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Index up by 1.0 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advancing by 0.8 percent [10] - Major European markets also experienced gains, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbing by 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index rising by 0.4 percent [11]