Stocks rebounded on Thursday following a sell-off on Wednesday resulting from potential rate hikes from the Fed.
The S&P 500 gained 1.08%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped close to 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw lower gains, closing the session 0.14% higher.
Intel shares stood out, surging after President Donald Trump said the company will partner with Apple to design and build chips in the U.S.
Trump said in a social media post that "Stupid Presidents took our Economy for granted, and let Taiwan and others steal our Semiconductor Factories," claiming that they "forgot to protect our Industries with TARIFFS."
The president went on to say that "it was clear America needed its Semiconductor Industry to come back to the U.S.A. We design everything, but we need to BUILD it here, NOW! So I decided to help Intel because we need to design and build our Chips right here in America."
"Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build its Chips in America. We decided to help Intel in exchange for 10% of their shares. Is that too much or, too little? They were worth around 100 Billion Dollars when we made our offer. Now they are worth over 600 BILLION DOLLARS!" Trump added.
In contrast, SpaceX shares dropped for the second day in a row, its market cap falling below Amazon's. The company closed the session at a $2.44 trillion market cap after falling more than 3.5%.
Oil prices also kept falling on Thursday after the U.S. and Iran signed the memorandum of understanding to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The United States said on Thursday it officially ended its naval blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas. "All U.S. blockade enforcement efforts have ceased," CENTCOM said, signaling that ships can once again travel to and from Iranian ports without facing U.S. interception.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, paired losses and was largely flat after falling sharply. It stood at $79.35 a barrel at 16:26 p.m. ET, while West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, behaved similarly and stood around $7.50 a barrel at the same time.
Elsewhere, U.S. gas prices have dropped below $4 a gallon as the downward trend for oil continues. The national average is now $3.9990 a gallon, according to AAA. Axios noted that, however, the national average was $3.1880 a year ago. Diesel prices are still over $5 a gallon.
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