04:36 PM EST, 11/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 extended rallies to record closing highs Thursday as the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 25 basis points.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.5% to 19,269.5, while the S&P rose 0.7% to 5,973.1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was marginally lower at 43,729.3 following a record close in the previous session. The three indexes surged Wednesday after Donald Trump won the US presidential election.

Among sectors, communication services and tech led the gainers, while financials posted the steepest decline.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee reduced its benchmark lending rate to a range of 4.5% to 4.75% from 4.75% to 5%, in line with a Bloomberg-compiled consensus.

"If the economy remains strong and inflation is not sustainably moving toward 2%, we can dial back policy restraint more slowly," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said. "If the labor market were to weaken unexpectedly or inflation were to fall more quickly than anticipated, we can move more quickly."

The US 10-year yield fell 9.4 basis points to 4.33%, while the two-year rate dropped 6.9 basis points to 4.2%.

In company news, Warner Bros. Discovery ( WBD ) logged the strongest quarterly gain in subscribers for its Max streaming platform in the September period, alongside surprise net income, even as revenue in the three months declined from a year earlier, dented by a weaker box office. The media and entertainment giant's shares surged 12%, among the top performers on the S&P and the Nasdaq.

Viatris ( VTRS ) shares jumped 14%, the second-biggest gain on the S&P, after the company posted third-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue that topped estimates by analysts.

MercadoLibre ( MELI ) shares slumped 16%, the biggest drop on the Nasdaq, after the company's third-quarter earnings missed Wall Street estimates late Wednesday.

Match Group ( MTCH ) shares fell 18%, the biggest drop on the S&P. Late Wednesday, the company issued a downbeat fourth-quarter revenue outlook following a third-quarter miss.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $72 a barrel Thursday.

In economic news, weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US rose for the first time in four weeks, while continuing claims reached the highest since November 2021, according to government data.

Pending home sale gains in the US held steady before Tuesday's presidential election despite rising mortgage rates, which are likely to move "even higher for the foreseeable future," Redfin (RDFN) said.

Gold increased 1.3% to $2,712.40 per troy ounce, while silver gained 2.4% to $32.08 per ounce.