Major U.S. stock indices closed sharply higher, with technology stocks spearheading the rebound. The Nasdaq 100 erased all of Wednesday's losses, while the S&P 500 likewise recovered its decline from the prior session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 600 points, reclaiming over half of Wednesday's roughly 1,100-point slide. The firm recovery signals that buyers were prepared to re-enter risk assets following the previous session's broad-based selloff.

Among the day's most notable developments was a transaction in the hedge fund industry. Citadel agreed to acquire the public equity portfolio of AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness, which had sustained steep losses on leveraged AI wagers. The episode underscores how rapidly leverage can transform a market correction into a liquidity crisis, compelling funds to liquidate holdings regardless of long-term conviction. Conversely, it also illustrates how well-capitalized firms can exploit periods of forced selling to obtain assets they consider undervalued. Such forced-deleveraging episodes have repeatedly produced sharp V-shaped recoveries in recent years, as the removal of distressed sellers clears the way for renewed demand.

Today's rally may have been partly fueled by that very transaction. Reports indicate that Situational Awareness held significant leveraged positions in Nebius Group, Sandisk, and Bloom Energy — all three of which ranked among the strongest performers in today's AI and semiconductor rebound. If the forced selling has largely run its course, today's price action may reflect buyers stepping in once that overhang was cleared.

The rebound across AI and chip-related shares was striking, with more than a dozen names posting double-digit gains:

• Nebius Group (NBIS): +27.13%
• Bloom Energy (BE): +26.49%
• Sandisk (SNDK): +25.97%
• CrowdStrike (CRWD): +21.51%
• Astera Labs (ALAB): +20.00%
• Micron (MU): +18.32%
• Lam Research (LRCX): +17.98%
• Skyworks Solutions (SKHY): +17.52%
• Lite-On Technology (LITE): +15.09%
• Applied Materials (AMAT): +14.97%
• Credo Technology (CRDO): +13.32%
• AMD: +13.00%
• Marvell Technology (MRVL): +12.18%
• Coherent (COHR): +12.16%
• Intel (INTC): +11.41%
• GE Vernova (GEV): +9.07%
• Arista Networks (ANET): +8.26%
• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM): +7.64%
• Arm Holdings (ARM): +7.40%

The breadth of the semiconductor rally — spanning equipment makers, memory specialists, designers, and foundries — reflects the AI infrastructure buildout cycle that has driven sustained capital expenditure across the chip supply chain. Companies like Micron, Lam Research, and Applied Materials sit at different points in that chain, yet all benefit when hyperscaler and enterprise spending on AI compute accelerates.

These gains propelled the broader market indices higher:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 52,213.21, +614.08 points (+1.19%)
• S&P 500: 7,437.64, +121.48 points (+1.66%)
• NYSE Composite: 25,122.18, +679.24 points (+2.78%)
• Russell 2000: 2,946.10, +39.79 points (+1.37%)
• Nasdaq 100: 28,106.35, +914.04 points (+3.36%)

After the closing bell, earnings season delivered yet another positive surprise. Amazon surpassed expectations, sending its shares up more than 13% in after-hours trading. The result adds to a heavy week of mega-cap technology earnings that includes Apple, which is scheduled to report shortly, setting the stage for another potentially market-moving event to cap off an eventful day. With several trillion-dollar companies reporting in close succession, the results will be closely watched for signals on whether the AI investment thesis supporting much of the sector's recent valuation expansion remains intact.