Nasdaq Climbs To Another New Record Closing High

(RTTNews) - After moving mostly higher over the course of the two previous sessions, stocks saw some further upside during trading on Friday. Benefiting from strength among tech stocks, the Nasdaq extended a recent uptrend to reach a new record closing high.

With Microsoft (MSFT) leading the way higher, software stocks saw substantial strength on the day. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the Dow Jones Software Index surged up by 4.2 percent.

Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) surged up by 10.5 percent after the software giant reported better than expected third quarter results after the close of trading on Thursday.

Considerable strength was also visible airline stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. With the gain, the index reached a one-month closing high.

Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings (HA) posted a standout gain, jumping by 9.8 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter results.

Internet, steel, and housing stocks also saw significant strength on the day, with Juniper Networks (JNPR) posting a strong gain within the internet sector after beating first quarter estimates.

On the other hand, semiconductor stocks extended the pullback seen in the previous session, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 1.7 percent. Maxim (MXIM) fell sharply after providing disappointing guidance.

Gold, oil service, and computer hardware stocks also moved notably lower, helping to limit the upside for the broader markets.

The major averages all closed in positive territory, although the Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts by a wide margin. While the Nasdaq advanced 36.02 points or 0.7 percent to 5,092.08, the Dow crept up 21.45 points or 0.1 percent to 18,080.14 and the S&P 500 rose 4.76 points or 0.2 percent to 2,117.69.

For the week, the Nasdaq surged up by 3.2 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 jumped by 1.4 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.