NEW YORK, July 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday, supported by a robust rebound in semiconductor stocks and a timely pullback in oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 139.02 points, or 0.27 percent, to 52,487.41. The S&P 500 added 60.93 points, or 0.81 percent, to 7,543.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 336.24 points, or 1.3 percent, to 26,206.89.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with technology and consumer discretionary leading the gainers by adding 1.65 percent and 1.46 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, consumer staples and energy led the laggards by going down 1.75 percent and 1.58 percent, respectively.
Despite escalating tensions in the Middle East, global crude futures finished the day lower after U.S. President Donald Trump said Iranian officials had reached out and expressed a willingness to negotiate a diplomatic resolution, temporarily easing concerns in energy markets.
The West Texas Intermediate for August delivery dropped 1.44 U.S. dollars, or 1.96 percent, to settle at 72.08 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for September delivery decreased by 1.72 dollars, or 2.2 percent, to settle at 76.3 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
In the technology sector, artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure stocks returned to favor ahead of a blockbuster initial public offering. SK Hynix is slated to make its direct Nasdaq debut on Friday. Banking sources indicated that investor demand reportedly exceeded available shares by a factor of seven.
The immense demand boosted sentiment across semiconductor stocks, prompting Micron Technology to jump 4.52 percent after announcing a domestic capital investment of up to 3 billion dollars to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor supply chain.
However, the rapid pace of AI capital investment prompted a note of caution from institutional economists. In a widely circulated research report to clients on Thursday, Apollo Global Management Chief Economist Torsten Slok warned that a "slower AI payoff would be everyone's problem." He highlighted that Wall Street consensus models project free cash flow at major cloud hyperscalers to more than double over the coming years.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department's weekly update showed that initial jobless claims changed little from the previous week's revised figures, keeping expectations for the Federal Reserve's near-term interest rate path dependent on incoming economic data.
In corporate earnings, consumer bellwether PepsiCo reported quarterly revenue that topped consensus estimates, though management noted that U.S. consumers are tightening their budgets in response to persistent economic uncertainties.
In other corporate developments, Paramount Skydance fell 4.31 percent on Thursday. The drop followed media reports that a coalition of U.S. state attorneys general was preparing to file a coordinated antitrust lawsuit to block the company's recent multibillion-dollar acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. ■