US Equity Indexes Rise Amid Risk-On Sentiment in Technology

04:55 PM EST, 12/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose on Friday as technology topped sector charts in a broad-based rally, aided by a revival of risk-on sentiment for the so-called artificial intelligence trade.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.3% to 23,307.62, with the S&P 500 up 0.9% to 6,834.50 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.4% higher at 48,134.89.

Healthcare, industrials, and financials were among the top gainers, while utilities and consumer staples led the decliners.

Oracle (ORCL), Silver Lake, and MGX have signed deals with ByteDance's TikTok to form a new US joint venture overseeing the American version of the social media platform, according to media outlets, citing an internal memo. Shares of Oracle jumped 6.6%, among the top performers on the S&P 500.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) jumped 3.9%, the Dow's leader. The tech bellwether could start shipping its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China as the Department of Commerce sent license applications for the chip sales to the State, Energy, and Defense Departments for review, Reuters reported Thursday.

Investors continued to pile into Micron Technology (MU) on Friday, with the stock closing 7% higher. The company reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue that topped analysts' expectations late Wednesday. Micron also handily beat the fiscal Q2 forecasts.

The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ) , with net assets of $6.97 billion and investments in firms related to AI, jumped 1.9%, hovering close to the week's highest.

The CBOE Volatility Index sank 11% to 14.91 intraday.

In economic news, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for December was revised to 52.9 from a preliminary estimate of 53.3, compared with expectations for a revision to 53.5 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The final reading was 51.0 in November.

Respondents in a Michigan survey see a 4.2% annual inflation rate over the next year and 3.2% over five years, declining from 4.5% and 3.4%, respectively, in November. That data comes close on the heels of the year-over-year consumer price index growth unexpectedly slowing in November and core CPI increasing less than forecast on Thursday.

As of late Friday, the market is pricing a 46% probability for a 25-basis-point reduction in March, versus the 41% likelihood a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Further in economic news, the pace of US existing home sales rose 0.5% to a 4.13 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in November from 4.11 million in October, compared with a larger expected increase to a 4.15 million rate in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, data from the National Association of Realtors released showed.

Most US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year yield up 3.3 basis points to 4.15% and the two-year higher by 2.8 basis points to 3.49%.

Gold futures advanced 0.1% to $4,369.11. Silver futures jumped 3.3% to $67.39, earlier hitting an all-time high.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 0.9% to $56.65 a barrel.

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