NEW YORK, March 25 ― Major US stock indexes rallied more than 1 per cent yesterday, extending the market's recent rebound, as investors snapped up beaten-down shares of chipmakers and big growth names and as oil prices dropped.

Nvidia Corp's stock gained 9.8 per cent, leading a rally across the chip sector and hitting its highest level since mid-January. Intel Corp climbed 6.9 per cent, and both stocks helped to boost the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

The Philadelphia SE semiconductor index jumped 5.1 per cent in its biggest daily percentage gain since February 15, while it remains down about 10 per cent for the year so far. Apple shares rose for an eighth consecutive day after getting hammered earlier this month.

The three major indexes have rallied in six of the last eight sessions, with all three having rebounded after the S&P 500 and the Dow confirmed they are in correction and the Nasdaq established it is in a bear market.

"The bear market was the dip to buy,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which has about US$50 million (RM211 million) in assets under management. "People finally said hey, this is a good entry point.”

"They are seeing more value in tech for the first time in a long time,” he said.

Oil prices fell after rallying sharply on Wednesday.

Data earlier showed the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a 52-1/2-year low last week, while unemployment rolls continued to shrink.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 349.44 points, or 1.02 per cent, to 34,707.94, the S&P 500 gained 63.92 points, or 1.43 per cent, to 4,520.16 and the Nasdaq Composite added 269.24 points, or 1.93 per cent, to 14,191.84.

Investors watched for the next developments in the Ukraine-Russia crisis. Western leaders have agreed to increase military aid to Ukraine and tighten sanctions on Russia whose invasion of its neighbour entered a second month.

Uber Technologies Inc climbed 5 per cent after the ride-hailing firm reached a deal to list all New York City taxis on its app.

Volume on US exchanges was relatively low at 11.03 billion shares, compared with the 14.3 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.96-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.03-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 29 new 52-week highs and four new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 58 new highs and 60 new lows. ― Reuters