The S&P 500 reached a new high, and significant indexes entered positive territory for the day due to Tuesday’s stock market rally in late trade.
S&P 500 Sets Record High as Stocks Rally in Late Trading:
The S&P 500 reached a new high, and significant indexes entered positive territory for the day due to Tuesday’s stock market rally in late trade.
The S&P ended the day 0.2% higher, reaching an all-time high for the first time in over four weeks, while the Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Average rose less than 0.1%. The Nasdaq and Dow are less than 1% away from reaching their new highs after the significant indexes contributed to their substantial advances from the previous week. (On Monday, the U.S. financial markets were closed during Presidents’ Day.)
After The Wall Street Journal revealed over the weekend that Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) are contemplating offers for portions of the troubled chipmaker, Intel’s (INTC) shares surged 16% to lead the Nasdaq gainers on Tuesday. Shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) also rose 16%, outpacing the S&P 500, as the company continued its upward trend that began last week when the troubled server manufacturer gave an optimistic forecast for sales growth driven by AI.
Following news that the pharmacy chain’s potential sale to private equity company Sycamore Partners may again be on the table, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) shares surged 14%. Following the announcement that Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffett, had acquired a stake in the parent company of Modelo beer, Robert Mondavi wine, and other alcoholic beverage brands, shares of Constellation Brands (STZ) increased by about 4%.
On Tuesday, the majority of mega-cap technology companies’ shares fell. Meta Platforms’ (META) shares dropped 2.8%, ending a 20-session winning run in which the price had increased by more than 20%. While Nvidia (NVDA) and Microsoft (MSFT) edged upward, Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Tesla (TSLA), and Broadcom (AVGO) also lost ground.
Notable decliners included Conagra Brands (CAG), which saw a 5.5% loss after the food firm lowered its earnings projection. Medtronic (MDT), whose shares fell 7.3% after the medical equipment company reported poor sales. Following the announcement that it would lay off 15% of its corporate staff—the first significant layoff in the history of the low-cost airline—Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock fell by about 1%.
Bitcoin was trading around $95,300 late Tuesday afternoon in other markets, down from a high of about $99,000 on Friday but up from an intraday low of about $93,300. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures increased 1.5% to $71.85 a barrel, while gold futures increased 1.8% to almost $2,950 an ounce, which is close to a record high.
Expectations regarding the direction of interest rates are reflected in the yield on 10-year Treasurys, which increased from 4.48% at Friday’s closing to 4.55%. Following dismal inflation statistics that prompted doubts about the Federal Reserve’s ability to lower rates this year, the yield spiked as high as 4.66% last week.
