S&P 500 notches first record high close in 2 years; chipmakers soar
The benchmark's close confirmed that the S&P 500 has been in a bull market since it closed at its low on Oct. 12, 2022, according to one measure which also puts that date as the end of a bear market.
In a selloff between its record high close of 4,796.56 on Jan.
3, 2022 and its low in October 2022, the S&P 500 tumbled 25%.
On Friday, the S&P 500 jumped 1.23% to end the session at 4,839.81 points.
«It really is an encouraging day in terms of the action, and 4,800 certainly has been a key level which has been difficult to surmount. So if we continue to move in this direction, that's going to be a very positive sentiment sign,» said Lisa Erickson, head of public markets at U.S.
Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.
Nvidia climbed 4.2% and Advanced Micro Devices rallied over 7% after server maker Super Micro Computer lifted its second-quarter profit forecast, sending its shares soaring 36%.
Investors exchanged $31 billion worth of Nvidia's stock and $23 billion worth of AMD shares, higher turnover than any other company on Wall Street, according to LSEG data.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index soared 4% to a record high, while the S&P 500 information technology sector index jumped more than 2% to a record highs.
Microsoft and Apple, the world's two most valuable companies, both rose more than 1%.
Chipmaker stocks have gained since Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's largest contract chipmaker, on Wednesday said it saw booming demand for high-end chips used in AI.
The Nasdaq jumped 1.70% to 15,310.97 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.05% to 37,863.80 points.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was heavy, with 12.3 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 11.5 billion shares
