US stocks rally, with S&P 500, Nasdaq rising for 6th day to reach 14-month high

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks rallied on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rising for the sixth consecutive day, climbing to their highest levels in 14 months.

The S&P 500 jumped 53 points, or 1.22%, to finish the day at 4,425. The index reached as high as 4,439.20 during the session.

The Nasdaq increased 156 points, or 1.15%, to close at 13,782. The tech-heavy index climbed as much as 13,828.17 points in trading hours.

Both intraday levels were the highest since April 2022.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average meanwhile soared 428 points, or 1.26%, to end the session at 34,408.

Microsoft also saw its stock price climb to an all-time high of $349.84 per share and finished at $348.10 a share with a 3.2% daily gain.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 4.5% to 14.50. The 10-year US Treasury yield, meanwhile, fell 2.1% to 3.720%.

The dollar index shed 0.8% to 102.15, while the euro was flat at 1.0944 after the European Central Bank earlier raised its three key policy interest rates by 25 basis points, taking its main rate to 3.5% -- the highest level in 22 years.

Precious metals were mixed, with gold rising 0.8% to $1,958 per ounce but silver trimming 0.1% to $23.89.

The price of global benchmark Brent crude was at $75.58 per barrel with a 0.05% gain, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 3.4% to $70.57.