Yahoo Movies S&P 500, Dow Keep Record Run Going on Apple-Led Gains in Tech
By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The S&P 500 and Dow continued their streak of record closing highs Thursday, led by a gains in health care and technology just as cyclicals took a breather from their recent melt up.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to a record closing high of 4,460.83, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.04%, or 14 points to close at a record of 35,499.85. The Nasdaq was up 0.4%.
An Apple-led climbs in megacap tech stocks helped keep the overall tech sector trending above the flatline following pressure from Intel and Micron.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 2%, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) also ended higher.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) fell sharply, dragging semiconductor stocks into the red after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) delivered a cautious note on the outlook for the sector amid worries of a glut in memory supply on the horizon.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Micron to equal-weight from overweight and slashed its price target on the stock to $105 to $75, sending its shares more than 6% lower.
The strength in megacap tech, meanwhile, appeared to come at the expense of economically-sensitive cyclicals, with energy and industrials in the red.
Energy was the biggest sector decliner on the day as oil remained under pressure a day after the White House called on OPEC and its allies to boost production to support the global recovery.
Analysts, however, have said that the current production agreement struck by OPEC and its allies will keep the oil market balanced.
"It remains to be seen whether OPEC+ will comply with the US wishes. In our opinion, the production hikes that have been announced are enough to keep the oil market largely balanced," Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) said in a note.
The broader weakness in cyclicals could prove short lived as some on Wall Street forecast that the bottom is in for cyclicals, with gains expected ahead.
"We believe that bond yields and cyclicals bottomed last week and are now on an upward trajectory for the rest of the year," according to JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) chief global markets strategist Marko Kolanovic.
In earnings news, Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL) reported a surprise quarterly loss that was overshadowed by positive third-quarter outlook, sending the online dating platform' shares more than 6% higher.
Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) climbed 11% after its quarterly results beat analysts' expectations on both the top and bottom lines.
Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ:RIDE) reported a wider quarterly losses, but announced that it would get limited production of its Endurance pickup truck underway in September.
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