Dow Jones Industrial Average Soars Nearly 200 Points, Nasdaq Composite Closes At All-Time High

U.S. stocks soared Thursday with the Nasdaq composite closing at an all-time high, led by gains in the biotechnology sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared nearly 200 points as the Federal Reserve’s cautious approach to raising interest rates offset concerns about the Greek debt crisis.

The Dow (INDEXDJX:.DJI) surged 180.10 points, or 1 percent, to close at 18,115.84. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) added 20.80 points, or 0.99 percent, to end at 2,121.24. The Nasdaq composite (INDEXSP:.INX) gained 68.07 points, or 1.34 percent, to finish at 5,132.95.

The Nasdaq closed above its previous record closing set on May 27. The index also traded above its intraday record high of 5,132.52, previously set during the dot-com bubble on March 10, 2000.

The Nasdaq received a boost after the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology exchange traded fund jumped 3 percent. The fund, which tracks companies such as Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB), has rallied around 25 percent this year.

Dow components 3M Co. (NYSE:MMM) and Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE:TRV) led the blue-chip index higher Thursday, both adding 1.7 percent.

All 10 sectors in the S&P 500 closed higher, led by gains in healthcare. Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) gained more than 4 percent Thursday, boosting the S&P 500 heathcare sector 1.5 higher.

Shares of Fitbit Inc. (NYSE:FIT) soared nearly 50 percent Thursday after the maker of wearable health-tracking devices made its stock market debut, closing at $29.68, well above its initial public offering price of $20. The San Francisco-based company is valued at $6 billion, based on Thursday's closing price.

Fitbit’s IPO raised about $732 million for the company and some of its shareholders by selling 36.6 million shares, marking the third-largest U.S. IPO in 2015, according to deal tracker Dealogic.

U.S. consumer prices their highest level since February 2013 last month, signaling that inflation is stabilizing after being muted following a plunge in energy prices last year. The consumer price index rose 0.4 percent in May from 0.1 percent in April, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Eurozone leaders will hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss Greece’s bailout crisis after Athens and its creditors failed again to secure a deal that would prevent the country from going bankrupt, a European Union official said Thursday.

The emergency summit next week could be one of the last chances for Greece to reach a deal before the government’s bailout program expires on June 30.

No major U.S. economic data are scheduled to come out Friday.