U.S. stocks close higher as tech sector rebounds

NEW YORK, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday as technology stocks continued to bounce back.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 99.14 points, or 0.41 percent, to 24,240.05. The S&P 500 increased 10.22 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,639.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 41.64 points, or 0.61 percent, to 6,818.02.

Technology stocks rose broadly on Thursday after being pressured last week. The sector is the best performer so far in 2017, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund rising nearly 31 percent on a year-to-date basis.

Meanwhile, investors kept an eye on the progress of the U.S. tax reform. The U.S. Senate on Saturday morning passed the Republican bill to overhaul the tax code in decades, moving one step closer to the first major legislative victory of the Trump administration and congressional Republicans.

On the economic front, in the week ending Dec. 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 236,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 238,000, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 241,500, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 242,250. Enditem