US stocks ended higher on Thursday, buoyed by popular technology companies including Facebook and Alphabet, while shares of yoga pants seller Lululemon Athletica also worked up a sweat.
Facebook climbed 2.31 per cent, while Google parent-company Alphabet added 1.23 per cent, helping the S&P 500 end higher after the index lost ground for four straight sessions.
The top-performing sector this year, the S&P 500 information technology index had fallen nearly 3.0 per cent since Nov. 28, with some investors cautious about high earnings multiples.
Lululemon jumped 6.43 per cent after the Canadian apparel maker reported a higher-than-expected profit and gave an upbeat holiday season forecast.
General Electric increased about 0.3 per cent after the industrial conglomerate said it was cutting 12,000 jobs at its global power business, reports Reuters.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29 per cent to end at 24,211.48 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.29 per cent to 2,636.98.
The Nasdaq Composite added 0.54 per cent to 6,812.84.
Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with industrial and materials indexes leading the gainers.
The S&P 500 consumer staples index fell 0.93 per cent, hurt by drops of at least 1.2 per cent in Procter & Gamble, Pepsico and Coca-Cola.
LendingClub plunged 15.53 per cent after the online lender lowered its quarterly revenue forecast.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting a rapid tightening of the labour market.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.70-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.75-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.
About 6.4 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, below the 6.6 billion daily average for the past 20 trading days.
