NEW YORK, New York - Major U.S. stock indexes finished Thursday's trading session in positive territory, driven by technology sector strength. Investors shrugged off earlier caution to push equities toward fresh highs after the U.S. brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

The Standard and Poor 500 advanced to close at 7,039.44, adding 16.49 points on the session for a gain of 0.23 percent. Trading volume reached 2.443 billion shares. The index moved within a daily range of 7,008.52 to 7,051.23, remaining well above its 52-week low of 5,101.63 and matching its high at 7,051.23.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also finished firmly in the green, ending the day at 48,566.94. The blue-chip index rose 103.22 points, an increase of 0.21 percent, on volume of 368.661 million shares. The Dow traded between 48,337.38 and 48,683.45, and remains within its 52-week range of 37,830.66 to 50,512.79.

The technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite outperformed the other major U.S. indexes, climbing 80.98 points to settle at 24,097.00. That advance represented a gain of 0.34 percent on volume of 7.898 billion shares, underscoring continued investor appetite for growth and technology names.

U.S. Dollar Mostly Stronger on Thursday,  Only Loonie Bucks Trend

Currency markets showed a mostly weaker performance among majors on Thursday, with the U.S. dollar posting modest gains against the Japanese yen and Swiss franc while losing ground against the Canadian dollar. Traders navigated shifting interest rate expectations and fresh macroeconomic data flows throughout the session.

The euro weakened against the greenback. The EUR/USD pair was last quoted at 1.1785, down 0.001375 on the day, a decline of 0.12 percent. The pair traded between a low of 1.1767 and a high of 1.18239, having opened at 1.1800.

Sterling also fell versus the dollar. The GBP/USD pair changed hands at 1.3532, a drop of 0.002860, representing a loss of 0.21 percent. The British pound moved within a daily range of 1.3516 to 1.3594 after opening at 1.3564.

The U.S. dollar advanced against the Japanese yen. The USD/JPY pair climbed to 159.11, adding 0.1240 points on the session, a gain of 0.08 percent. The pair opened at 159.00, hit a low of 158.26, and peaked at 159.30.

The Swiss franc weakened against the dollar. The USD/CHF pair rose to 0.7829, an increase of 0.001045, or 0.13 percent. Trading ranged from a low of 0.7798 to a high of 0.7845, after opening at 0.7821.

The Canadian dollar strengthened notably against its U.S. counterpart. The USD/CAD pair fell to 1.3696, dropping 0.004485, which equates to a decline of 0.33 percent. The pair opened at 1.3740, reached an identical high of 1.3740, and sank to a low of 1.3695.

The Australian dollar posted a slight loss against the greenback. The AUD/USD pair was last at 0.7162, down 0.000725, a move of 0.1 percent. The pair opened at 0.7169, traded as high as 0.7197, and bottomed out at 0.7152.

The New Zealand dollar suffered the largest percentage decline among the major pairs tracked. The NZD/USD pair settled at 0.58908, a loss of 0.002315, or 0.39 percent. The kiwi opened at 0.5911, hit a session high of 0.5923, and dropped to a low of 0.5881.

Global Stock Markets Close Mixed on Thursday as Asian Indexes Surge, European Benchmarks Dip

World stock markets concluded Thursday's trading session with a divergent performance, as major Asian indexes posted significant gains while several European benchmarks retreated into negative territory. Investors digested a range of regional economic signals, leading to a cautious but bullish tilt in the East.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite index closed in negative territory, bucking the U.S. trend. The Toronto benchmark fell 103.81 points to end the day at 34,052.18, a decline of 0.30 percent on volume of 171.81 million shares.

The FTSE 100 in London managed a modest advance, closing at 10,589.99, an increase of 30.41 points, or 0.29 percent.

Germany's DAX P also finished higher, ending the day at 24,154.47 after adding 87.77 points, a gain of 0.36 percent.

However, the continent saw red across several other key indexes. In France the CAC 40 fell by 11.87 points to settle at 8,262.70, a loss of 0.14 percent.

The pan-European EURO STOXX 50 I dropped 7.06 points on Thursday to close at 5,933.28, down 0.12 percent, while the Euronext 100 Index slid 3.02 points to 1,830.37, a decline of 0.16 percent.

Belgium's BEL 20 bucked the regional trend, climbing 8.38 points to finish at 5,483.54, a 0.15 percent increase.

Asian markets saw stronger momentum, led by South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index, which skyrocketed 134.66 points to end at 6,226.05, an eye-catching jump of 2.21 percent.

Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index also posted a solid advance, climbing 409.88 points to finish at 37,132.02, a 1.12 percent increase.

Japan's Nikkei 225, however, took top honors, surging 1,384.10 points to close at 59,518.34, a powerful gain of 2.38 percent, marking one of the strongest performances of the day, and a new all-time high for the benchmark index.

Elsewhere in Asia, the HANG SENG INDEX delivered a powerful rally, soaring 446.94 points to end at 26,394.26, a robust gain of 1.72 percent. Conversely, Singapore's STI Index slipped 13.37 points to 5,007.83, a loss of 0.27 percent.

In the Pacific, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 23.70 points to close at 8,955.00, down 0.26 percent, while the broader ALL ORDINARIES lost 7.50 points to finish at 9,173.60, a decline of 0.08 percent.

The S&P BSE SENSEX in India dropped 122.56 points to 77,988.68, a decrease of 0.16 percent. Indonesia's IDX COMPOSITE was nearly flat, dipping just 2.20 points to 7,621.38, or 0.03 percent.

Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 6.29 points to 1,689.71, a gain of 0.37 percent, while New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 INDEX GROSS shed 10.52 points to close at 13,066.06, down 0.08 percent.

Finally, mainland China's SSE Composite Index added 28.34 points to close at 4,055.55, an increase of 0.70 percent on volume of 3.048 billion shares, rounding out a largely positive session for Asian equities.

In the Middle East and Africa, Israel's TA-125 fell 46.97 points to 4,263.87, a drop of 1.09 percent, while Egypt's EGX 30 Price Return Index rallied 704.70 points to finish at 51,437.80, a gain of 1.39 percent on volume of 767.936 million.

South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index declined 68.11 points to 7,247.51, down 0.93 percent.

(This report incorporates quotes retrieved with the assistance of artificial intelligence).

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