• The Nasdaq rose 1.9% to close Thursday’s session at 14,192 points.
• Uber shares jumped 5% on agreement to list New York taxis on Uber app.
• Nikola rose 5.7% after announcing production has started for its Tre Battery EV.

Investors bought back into stocks on Thursday after the midweek dip amid a decline in the price of oil. Investor confidence was also boosted by President Biden rolling out more sanctions against Russia after wrapping up a series of gatherings with allies and world leaders in Brussels.

The Dow Jones rose 1% to finish the trading day up 349 points to close at 34,708 points.

The tech heavy NASDAQ rose 1.9% to finish the trading day up 269 points to close at 14,192 points with Facebook and Google gaining 2.86% and 2.03% respectively.

One bitcoin is worth US$44,028 going into the Asian trading day.

The Australian dollar is stronger against the major currencies and is buying 75.18 US cents.

Shares in ride-share giant Uber jumped just under 5% after the company reached a deal with New York taxis after 13 years of opposition for Uber from New York taxis. Under the agreement, two-taxi hailing apps will integrate their software with Uber’s to list New York taxis on the Uber app.

EV company Nikola rallied 5.7% on Thursday after announcing it has started production of its Tre Battery electric vehicle at its Coolidge facility in Arizona. Nikola said it would deliver 300 to 500 of the semi-trucks this year. The company expects positive gross margins for its Tre Battery EV by 2023.

And Apple is reportedly working on a subscription model for its hardware products, allowing customers to pay a monthly fee to use Apple hardware products like iPhones without ever owning them.