U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday, propelled by a strong rebound in technology shares. The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 1.7%, erasing much of its steep losses from the previous session, while the Nasdaq 100 surged 3.4%, marking its largest one-day gain since March 31st and snapping a six-day losing streak, the longest since 2022.

Microsoft stock soared 16% by the closing bell, delivering its biggest single-day percentage gain since October 2008. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 8.2%, ending a five-day slide, with major chip names like Micron Technology and Nvidia advancing. SanDisk surged an impressive 26%. The rally followed Samsung Electronics reporting that its semiconductor division's second-quarter profit multiplied more than 250 times year-over-year, while also forecasting that memory chip shortages would intensify next year, reflecting the accelerating pace of global AI infrastructure buildout.

"Today's advance is fundamentally earnings-driven," said Marc Pinto, head of Americas equities at Janus Henderson. "Microsoft's results overwhelmed the macro concerns." In contrast, Meta Platforms shares fell 8% after the company reported its lowest level of free cash flow since 2022. Meanwhile, Apple's after-hours results revealed that its services segment and some sales growth came in below analyst expectations for the past quarter, sparking investor unease about those pivotal markets.

Investors continued to digest remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during Wednesday's press conference, where the Fed held interest rates steady. Michael Feroli of JPMorgan wrote that Powell again failed to specify how he would deliver on his aggressive anti-inflation stance, a failure that he argued pressures other Fed policymakers to act more urgently to fulfill their statutory mandate.

At the closing bell, the S&P 500 added 1.7% to 7,437.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to 52,208.06. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.8% to 25,122.18. The Nasdaq 100 gained 3.4% to 28,106.35. The small-cap Russell 2000 index advanced 1.4% to 2,946.101.