US stocks close higher, led by big tech

ISTANBUL

US stocks closed with gains Thursday as Oracle's higher-than-expected financial results bolstered the big tech sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.24%, or 101.85 points, to close at 42,967.62.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.24% to finish at 19,662.48 points and the S&P 500 rose 0.38% to 6,045.26.

Oracle's shares were up 13.25% Thursday as the company's financial results came in better than market forecasts in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on May 31.

Other tech giants' shares also saw positive results. Nvidia rose 1.52%, Microsoft increased 1.32% and Intel added 0.44%.

Meanwhile, following a fatal crash involving an Air India 787-8 Dreamliner, marking the first such accident for the aircraft model, Boeing's shares dropped 4.79%.

Also, shares of GE Aerospace and Spirit AeroSystems, two of Boeing’s suppliers, fell by more than 2%.

On the other hand, after the announcement of a new trade deal with China on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump and other officials made comments regarding the tariffs and China's stance on the trade deal.

Trump said at the White House that he might "go up" with his previous 25% auto tariffs in the "not-too-distant future" to further defend American auto workers.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC on Wednesday that tariffs on China won't change again.

Lutnick said the 55% tariff rate Trump announced will include a 20% tariff on fentanyl, a 10% reciprocal tariff and a 25% tariff rate from the president's first term.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that China needs to be a reliable partner in the trade negotiations.

"China has a singular opportunity to stabilize its economy by shifting away from excess production towards greater consumption," Bessent said at the House Ways and Means Committee.

He stressed that a "big, beautiful" rebalancing of the US and China, the world's two largest economies, is possible if China addresses its responsibilities under the original trade agreement that the two parties reached in Geneva last month.

Meanwhile, Trump made comments about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell again, saying he would not fire him, again urging him to cut interest rates.

"I would like this guy to lower interest rates. If he doesn't, then we have to pay. We have a lot of short-term debt," he said at the White House.

On the macroeconomic data side, producer prices in the US matched expectations in May, increasing 2.6% annually and 0.1% monthly.

The dollar index fell to 97.60 during the day, the lowest level in nearly three years, before later stabilizing around 97.90.

Initial jobless claims were stable last week at 248,000.