NEW YORK, March 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday as major tech shares rallied, bolstering the market.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 212.00 points, or 0.82 percent, to 25,957.67. The S&P 500 climbed 25.04 points, or 0.89 percent, to 2,849.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 81.58 points, or 1.06 percent, to 7,810.55.
Apple shares rose more than 3 percent in midday trading after Needham upgraded the stock to strong buy from buy ahead of a launch event on March 25.
Major U.S. tech-heavy stocks traded on an upbeat note, underpinning Nasdaq. Shares of Micron Technology soared 8 percent around midday. The U.S. chipmaker reported quarterly results on Wednesday that beat analyst expectations.
Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher at midday, with technology up about 1.7 percent, outperforming other groups.
However, shares of Biogen plummeted more than 28 percent at midday after the pharmaceutical giant said it would end the trial for an Alzheimer's drug it was developing.
U.S. stocks closed mixed after volatile trading on Wednesday as Wall Street digested the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement. Enditem
