Mumbai, Dec. 12 -- The Nasdaq climbed well off its worst levels of the day, the tech-heavy index still closed down 60 points or 0.3% at 23,594. The S&P 500 rose 14 points or 0.2% to 6,901 and the Dow jumped 646 points or 1.3% to a new record closing high of 48,704.01.

The Dow surged largely due to a sharp 6.1% rise in Visa (V) shares after Bank of America upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral. Strong performances by Nike (NKE), UnitedHealth (UNH), and American Express (AXP) further supported the blue-chip index's jump.

In contrast, the Nasdaq was weighed down by a 10.8% plunge in Oracle (ORCL) shares after the company reported better-than-expected earnings but weaker revenue. AI-related stocks like Nvidia (NVDA) also slipped amid valua...