The S&P 500 index was climbing sharply Thursday morning, lifted by stocks in its information-technology sector. Tech was jumping 3%, the S&P 500's top-performing sector in morning trade, according to the FactSet data,

Stocks jumped Thursday as investors cheered the Federal Reserve’s eye-popping half-point interest rate cut. The Dow closed 522 points, or 1.3%, higher, reaching a new record after passing the 42,000 level for the first time.