Nasdaq Composite turns positive for the year, Dow jumps 400 points

The Nasdaq Composite rose on Thursday, clawing back its steep losses for the year, as tech shares added to their recently strong gains while investors mounted bets on the U.S. economy reopening soon.

The tech-heavy index traded 1.6% higher as Apple shares also gained more than 1%. Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet rose as well.

Thursday marked the first time one of the major averages was up year to date since the coronavirus pandemic led to the closure of nonessential businesses, sparking massive layoffs and a historic market sell-off.

The Nasdaq’s rebound was led in large part by sharp gains in big tech stocks such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet. Those stocks are all up at least 15% this quarter and are positive for 2020. Microsoft, another major tech stock, has rallied more than 16% this year and for the quarter.