Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rallied for a third consecutive day, recouping nearly all their losses from last week's surprising U.K. referendum to leave the European Union, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Composite index ended the month of June slightly higher.
In Thursday's session, the Dow surged 235.31 or 1.33% to 17,929.99, completing its third straight move of 150 points or higher. As a result, the Dow has shaved approximately 80% of its losses from a massive sell-off in the wake of the shocking Brexit decision when it plunged more than 850 points in two sessions. The S&P 500 Composite Index added 28.09 or 1.36% to 2,098.86, ending the first half up by more than 2%. For the session all 10 sectors closed in the green, as stocks in the Consumer Goods, Utilities and Basic Materials industries led. In total, seven sectors jumped by more than 1%, led by Consumer Goods, which surged by more than 12 points for the session.
The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, added 63.42 or 1.33% to 4,842.67, amid continued gains among semiconductor stocks. Nevertheless, the NASDAQ closed lower for the second consecutive quarter, posting back-to-back quarterly losses for the first time in five years. Over the first half of the year, the NASDAQ has been pulled down by large-cap stocks such as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which have each fallen by more than 7% year to date. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares have also provided a significant drag, moving lower for the third time over the last four quarters.
The top performer on the Dow was General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), which added 0.93 or 3.04% to 31.48. It came one day after the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) voted to remove GE's Systemically Important Financial Institution (SIFI) designation, capping the multinational conglomerate's year-long effort to unwind GE Capital, its lucrative financial arm. Since announcing a transformation into a smaller, less risky financial services company last April, GE Capital has reduced its assets by roughly $180 billion. The ruling could enable GE to designate up to $20 billion for additional stock buybacks, according to company executives.
The worst performer was Visa Inc (NYSE:V) which slid 2.57 or 3.35% to 74.17. Earlier, a U.S. Federal appeals court threw out a $7.25 billion antitrust settlement Visa and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) reached with millions of retailers in 2012, stemming from accusations that the credit card giants acted improperly in fixing credit and debit fees. The settlement, which could be renegotiated, is the largest all-cash, antitrust deal in U.S. history.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was NetEase Inc (NASDAQ:NTES), which added 11.74 or 6.47% to 193.22. NetEase finished just above Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), which held onto gains after Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) rejected the multinational confectionary food company's $23 billion offer on Thursday afternoon. Hershey stocks initially skyrocketed after the Wall Street Journal reported that Mondelez made a preliminary, non-binding attempt to acquire the Pennsylvania-based chocolate giant for a half-cash, half-stock bid, totaling $107 a share. Mondelez closed at 45.51, up 2.54 or 5.91%, while Hershey's soared 16.35 or 16.83% to 113.49.
"The Company’s Board of Directors, after receiving input from the Company’s management and its outside financial and legal advisors, carefully evaluated the indication of interest," Hershey's said in a statement. "Following this review, the Board of Directors of the Company unanimously rejected the indication of interest and determined that it provided no basis for further discussion between Mondelez and the Company."
The worst performer was Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO), which slid 4.30 or 4.52% to 90.87. Tractor Supply built on sharp losses from Wednesday's after-hour session after the largest rural lifestyle retail store chain in the U.S. posted weak preliminary second quarter results and lowered its annual outlook. For the quarter, Tractor Supply expects same store sales to inch down 0.5%, down considerably from comparable store gains of 5.6% over the same period last year.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,396-653 margin.