Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P 500 clinch record close despite pause in tech rally
Investing.com-- The Dow and S&P 500 notched a record close Friday, even as the rally in Nvidia cooled to blunt the broader tech sector's swashbuckling gains amid waning optimism for aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.
By 16:00 ET (21:40 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 62 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 eked out gains to close at a fresh record of 5,088.85, while Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%. The three major averages closed up for the week, rising more than 1%.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) gave up the bulk of its gains to close just above the flatline after briefly hit $2 trillion in market value for the first time, having added $277 billion in stock market value the previous day, Wall Street's largest one-day gain in history.
Nvidia's blockbuster earnings saw investors largely trade past warnings from the Federal Reserve that interest rates will stay higher for longer- a notion that was further reinforced by stronger-than-expected jobless claims data.
The gains in Nvidia helped keep losses in the broader semiconductor index in check after Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) gave up some gains from a day earlier.
Investors continued to rein in their expectations for aggressive rate cuts, following fresh remarks from Federal Reserve officials that point to a prolonged higher-for-longer interest-rate regime.
Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday that he was in «no rush» to lower rates. A slew of Fed members have previously echoed this notion, citing fears of sticky inflation and strength in the labor market.
Traders are now expecting the first rate cut in June rather than May, with just four rate cuts expected, according to
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