THE Nasdaq ended at a record high on Tuesday, lifted by Amazon, Microsoft and other top-shelf tech companies as investors shifted their focus to growth stocks.
Microsoft rose 1.1% and its stock market value briefly breached US$2 tril for the first time, while Apple, Facebook and Amazon also rallied more than 1% each.
Amazon had over US$5.6 bil in total online sales in the US on the first day of its Prime promotional event, according to Adobe Digital Economy Index.
In a congressional hearing, meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed the US central bank’s intent to encourage a “broad and inclusive” recovery of the job market and not to raise interest rates too quickly based only on the fear of coming inflation.
So-called value stocks, expected to benefit from the economic recovery, have outperformed in 2021, while growth stocks, including major tech names like Apple and Nvidia, have rallied since the Fed last week took a stance on future rate hikes viewed by many as more aggressive than expected.
The S&P growth index has added almost 2% since before the Fed last Wednesday projected an accelerated timetable for interest rate increases, compared with a drop of almost 2% in the value index.
“The market was caught off guard regarding the Fed’s hawkish commentary, and that’s 100% of what is happening,” chief investment officer of 6 Meridian Andrew Mies said. “All the smart people were surprised about how hawkish the Fed was, and now they are adjusting their portfolios.”
Nine of the 11 major S&P sector indexes rose, with consumer discretionary and tech the biggest gainers, each up about 1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to end at 33,945.58, while the S&P 500 gained 0.51% to 4,246.44.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.79% to 14,253.27.
GameStop jumped 10% after the videogame retailer said it raised over US$1 bil in its latest share offering, cashing in further on this year’s Reddit-driven surge in its stock price.
Sanderson Farms rallied about 10% to a record high after J.P. Morgan raised its price target on the stock after a source told Reuters that the poultry producer was exploring a sale.
Twitter ended almost 3% higher after it said it will seek applications from users to test new content subscription and ticketing features, as the social platform works to build more ways for users to earn money.
Moderna Inc rose 6.3% after the European Union decided to take up an option under a supply contract with the drugmaker that allows the bloc to order 150 million additional COVID-19 vaccines.
Splunk Inc surged over 11% after the data analytics software maker said private equity firm Silver Lake invested US$1 bil in the company’s convertible senior notes.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.26-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.08-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and 1 new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 78 new highs and 56 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was 9.5 billion shares, compared with the 11.1 billion average over the last 20 trading days. – June 23, 2021
