2017.12.0721:50:00UTC+00Wall Street Gains as Tech Hits 3-Day Winning Streak

U.S. equities advanced on Thursday, bolstered by technology stocks like Facebook and Alphabet.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 70.57 points to end at 24,211.48, after briefly increasing by over 100 points.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 2,636.98. Information technology was among the best-performing sectors in the S&P 500, gaining 0.6 percent.

The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5 percent to close at 6,812.84, as shares of Facebook and Amazon increased.

Tech, which is the best-performing sector of 2017, had been under pressure recently — declining 0.9 percent over the past week — but reported a three-day winning streak on Thursday.

Facebook rose 2.31 percent, while Google parent-company Alphabet gained 1.23 percent, helping the S&P 500 end higher after the index lost ground for four consecutive sessions.

Material stocks increased in late-afternoon trading on news that President Donald Trump plans to reveal an infrastructure spending plan next year. Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Vulcan Materials and Eagle Materials climbed 3.5 percent, 3.1 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.

The S&P 500 consumer staples index declined 0.93 percent, hurt by losses of at least 1.2 percent in Procter & Gamble, Pepsico and Coca-Cola.

Lululemon surged 6.43 percent after the Canadian apparel maker posted a higher-than-expected profit and provided a strong holiday season forecast.

General Electric rose around 0.3 percent after the industrial conglomerate said it was cutting 12,000 jobs at its global power business.

Sage Therapeutics surged 70 percent after announcing solid results from Phase 2 testing of its depression drug known as SAGE-217.