The Nasdaq Composite increased 243.30 points or 1.2% to close at 19,864.98, also booking back-to-back gains. The tech-heavy index is up 2.9% year to date, its best start to a year since 2009, when it rose 4.8%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq headed in different directions at the close Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released minutes of its December meeting. Artificial intelligence giant Nvidia tested a key level in the wake of a huge drop.