US Stock Market Today: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbed to new record highs on Thursday, after Microsoft's blockbuster earnings propelled the tech giant past the $4 trillion milestone and fueled investor confidence in big tech's hefty investments in artificial intelligence (AI).
At 09:50 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 88.73 points, or 0.20%, to 44,550.01, the S&P 500 gained 45.18 points, or 0.71%, to 6,408.08 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 245.09 points, or 1.16%, to 21,374.76.
The S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial are set for a third straight monthly gain - their longest winning streak in nearly a year - while the Nasdaq Composite was on track for its best monthly run since March 2024.
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Microsoft became the second publicly traded company after Nvidia to surpass $4 trillion in market valuation, following a strong earnings report. Meta Platforms also climbed 12.1% to an all-time high in early trading, after the social media giant forecast third-quarter revenue well above Street estimates, thanks to AI boosting its core advertising business.
Nvidia gained more than 1%. Also, the S&P technology index and the communication services index both hit record highs, up 1.2% and over 3%, respectively. Easing global trade war fears, signs of US economic resilience, and renewed AI optimism have set Wall Street on course for monthly gains.
On Wednesday, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell diluted investor expectations for an interest rate cut in September after the central bank kept rates unchanged. Traders now see a 58.8% chance the Fed will stay pat in September as well, according to CME's FedWatch tool.
US Stock Market Today: S&P, Nasdaq Opened at Record High
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq opened at record highs earlier today aided by Meta and Microsoft earnings. The Dow Jones rose 204.5 points, or 0.46%, at the open to 44,665.82. The S&P 500 rose 64.1 points, or 1.01%, at the open to 6,427.02, while the Nasdaq rose 327.8 points, or 1.55%, to 21,457.48 at the opening bell.
At opening bell, the yield on 10-year treasuries declined by two basis points to 4.35%. Cryptocurrency bitcoin rose 0.8% to $118,078.95. The WTI crude fell 0.9% to $69.38 per barrel. Spot gold rose 1% to $3,308.28 an ounce.
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