Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday paring some of its losses from the previous session, as reports of significant developments in the Greek debt negotiations spurred the highest gains among the major indices over the last two weeks and pushed the NASDAQ Composite index to an all-time closing high.
The NASDAQ rose 73.84 or 1.47% to 5,106.50, eclipsing an all-time closing high previously reached in March. Over the last several weeks, the NASDAQ remained in near-record territory as the other U.S. indices set all-time closing records.
Buoyed by significant gains from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 100 points on the session, while the S&P 500 Composite index rose by nearly 1% on a bullish day for the equity markets. The Dow rose 121.45 or 0.67% to close at 18,162.99, while the the S&P 500 gained 19.28 or 0.92% to 2,123.48, as nine of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Technology, Health Care and Financial sectors led, each gaining at least 0.9%. Stocks in the Energy industry, the lone sector to close lower on the session, lagged.
The top performer on the Dow was Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which gained 1.02 or 2.19% to 47.61. Apple also rose 2.43 or 1.87% to 32.05, after news broke that the tech giant will extend its popular mobile app to its new iWatch device. The worst performer on the Dow was Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which fell 0.58 or 0.56% to 102.84. The U.S. Department of Justice levied major corruption and bribery charges against FIFA, the world's most powerful soccer organization on Wednesday. While Nike has yet to be implicated in the scandal, the Oregon-based sports apparel provider is one of FIFA's top global partners.
On the NASDAQ, Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM) spiked more than 20% after Dow Jones reported that the California-based semiconductor company is in advanced talks with Avago Technologies on a merger. Avago Technologies, which is jointly based in California and Singapore, gained 10.19 or 7.76% to 141.49. Broadcom jumped 10.10 or 21.45% to 57.16, nearing a 52-week high.
The worst performer on the NASDAQ was Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP), which dropped 1.94 or 2.26% to 83.84. The Tel Aviv-based software developer is still up by more than 25% on the year.
Broadcom was also the top performer on the S&P 500, ahead of Tiffany & Co (NYSE:TIF), which gained 9.01 or 10.53% to 94.54, after the international high-end jeweler beat analysts' forecasts with its quarterly earnings and revenues. The worst performer was Michael Kors, which plunged more than 24% after the high-end retailer said Wednesday that its same-stores fell in North America by roughly 6% over the quarter. Shares in the fashion retailer known for its handbags and accessories fell 14.66 or 24.20% to 45.93, its lowest level since December, 2012.