Dow, S&P 500 Reach Record Closing Highs As Tech Stocks Extend Rally

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session on Friday, adding to the strong gains posted during Thursday's session. With the continued upward move, the Dow and the S&P 500 set new record closing highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached its best closing level in two years.

The major averages all close firmly in positive territory, with the Nasdaq posting a standout gain. The Nasdaq spiked 255.32 points or 1.7 percent to 15,310.97, the S&P 500 surged 58.87 points or 1.2 percent to 4,839.81 and the Dow jumped 395.19 points or 1.1 percent to 37,863.80.

For the holiday-shortened week, the Nasdaq soared by 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 shot up by 1.2 percent and the Dow advanced by 0.7%

The run to record highs on Wall Street partly reflected continued strength among tech stocks, which helped lead the advance on Thursday.

Optimism about the outlook for earnings may have contributed to the continued strength in the tech sector ahead of next week's release of quarterly results from companies like Intel (INTC), IBM Corp. (IBM) and Netflix (NFLX).

Computer hardware stocks saw substantial strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 5.1percent to a record closing high.

Supermicro (SMCI) led the sector higher, skyrocketing by 35.9 percent after raising its fiscal second quarter guidance amid strong market and end customer demand for its rack-scale, AI and Total IT Solutions.

Semiconductor stocks also extended the rally seen on Thursday, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 4.0 percent. The index also reached a new record closing high.

Outside of the tech sector, substantial strength emerged among banking stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent jump by the KBW Bank Index.

Meanwhile, the Dow received a boost from a surge by shares of Travelers (TRV), with the insurance giant spiking by 6.7 percent. Travelers moved sharply higher after the company reported fourth quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.

The rally on Wall Street also came after the University of Michigan released a report showing a significant improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment as well as a continued decrease in inflation expectations.

The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index surged to 78.8 in January after jumping to 69.7 in December. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 70.0.

With the much bigger than expected increase, the consumer sentiment index reached its highest level since hitting 81.2 in July 2021.

The University of Michigan's report also showed continued decreases in both year-ahead and long-run inflation expectations.

Year-ahead inflation expectations slipped to 2.9 percent in January after plunging to 3.1 percent in December, hitting the lowest level since December 2020.

Long-run inflation expectations also edged down to 2.8 percent in January from 2.9 percent in December, falling just below the 2.9-3.1 percent range seen for 26 of the last 30 months.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks finished a choppy trading session little changed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed just above the unchanged line, the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries recovered from early weakness to the day roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 4.146 percent after reaching a high of 4.198 percent.

Looking Ahead

Earnings news may steal the spotlight early next week, although reports on personal income and spending, durable goods orders and fourth quarter GDP are likely to attract attention later in the week.