Investing.com -- U.S. stocks surged on Thursday amid increased possibility of a delayed interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, as the NASDAQ Composite index set an all-time intra-day high that had stood for more than 15 years.
Boosted by an upswing in biotech stocks, the NASDAQ soared above 5,113, a level last reached in March, 2000 to reach a session-high of 5,143.32, before ending the day at 5,132.95, an all-time closing high. The NASDAQ gained 68.07 or 1.34% on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Composite index also posted gains of more than 0.95%, as traders continued to react to relatively dovish comments from Fed chair Janet Yellen one session earlier.
While Yellen indicated that the Fed will continue to take a data driven approach to its first rate hike in nearly a decade, the Fed's dot plot signaled that it could wait until December, not September for lift-off. The Dow gained 180.10 or 1.0% to 18,115.84, moving positive for the month of June, while the S&P 500 rose 29.88 or 0.99% to 2,121.24, as stocks on nine of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Health Care, Utilities and Consumer Services industries led, each gaining at least 1.15% on the session.
The top performer on the Dow was 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), which gained 2.67 or 1.70% to 159.62. The worst performer was Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which gained 0.19 or 0.22% to 87.44. All 30 components on the Dow closed higher on Thursday.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was VimpelCom (NASDAQ:VIP), which gained 0.35 or 6.74% to 5.54. Vimpelcom finished just ahead Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG), which added 4.73 or 4.21% to 16.89. The worst performer was Keurig Green Mountain Inc (NASDAQ:GMCR), which fell 0.27 or 0.32% to 83.57. Over the last year, shares in Keurig Green Mountain are down nearly 30%.
Celgene finished as the top performer on the S&P 500, ahead of Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG), which gained 2.38 or 4.19% to 59.04, after the motorcycle manufacturer had its short-term and long-term credit rating maintained by Moody's. The worst performer was CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF), which closed at 64.25, after its Board of Directors executed a stock split on Thursday.
Shares in Fitbit, Inc. jumped 9.55 to 29.55, gaining nearly 50% from its IPO of $20 during its Wall Street debut on Thursday. It came amid a report from IDC that the number of wearable device could soar by 173% to 72.1 million in 2015.
Shares in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) plummeted 2.17 or 4.83% to 42.74, one day after the multinational computer company failed to meet analysts' expectations with its earnings and revenue last quarter.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers outnumbered decliners by a 2,113 to 1,028 margin.