Major United States benchmark averages closed higher on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), with the S&P 500 touching fresh intraday highs, buoyed by technology shares and optimism surrounding President Donald Trump’s new term.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 130.9 points, or 0.3% to close at 44,156.7, the S&P 500 rose 37.1 points or 0.6% to 6,086.4, touching a record of 6,100.81, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed, lifting 252.6 points or 1.3% to 20,009.3.
Key contributors to the market rally included Oracle and Nvidia, which advanced 6.8% and 4.4%, respectively, as enthusiasm for artificial intelligence investment grew following President Trump’s announcement of “Stargate”, a joint venture committing at least US$500 billion to develop AI infrastructure in the United States.
Netflix soared 9.7% after the streaming giant reported surpassing 300 million paid memberships, with fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beating analyst forecasts.
Procter & Gamble also gained 1.9% following robust earnings results, with net sales up 2% versus the prior year.
On the bond markets, yields on the 10-year and 2-year Treasury notes increased to 4.605% and 4.295%, respectively.
