The Nasdaq spiked 457.99 points (2.7%) to 17,166.04, the S&P 500 surged 108.91 points (2%) at 5,484.77 and the Dow jumped 486.83 points (1.2%) to 40,093.40.
Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, resulting in a 5.6% spike by Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Texas Instruments (TXN) and Lam Research (LRCX) helped lead the sector higher after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings. Industry giant Intel (INTC) also posted a strong gain ahead of the release of its first quarter results.
Software and computer hardware stocks saw significant strength, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index and the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index surging by 4.6% and 4.2%, respectively. Oil service stocks strongly moved upwards amid a modest rebound by the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.7%. Financial, steel and retail stocks were considerable strong, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors. The continued strength on Wall Street came despite comments from a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson that partly offset optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal.
China's Ministry of Commerce stated there are no ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S., urging the removal of unilateral tariffs to resolve issues. Spokesperson He Yadong dismissed claims of progress in talks. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced potential trade progress with South Korea, expecting technical discussions as early as next week.
The Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged modestly higher in the week ended April 19th. The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 222,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 216,000. Commerce Department released a report showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged much more than expected in the month of March amid a spike by orders for transportation equipment.
Asia-Pacific stocks turned in a mixed performance. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.5%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 0.7%. the major European markets moved upwards while the German DAX Index climbed by 0.5%, the French CAC 40 Index increased by 0.3% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1%.
In the bond market, treasuries moved notably higher after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slumped 8.2 bps to 4.30%.