Analysts working at the Nasdaq.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Stocks advanced Friday after the market wrapped up its fourth straight winning month and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite reached its first closing record since November 2021.
The Nasdaq rose 0.8% to reach an all-time high. The S&P 500 added 0.5% and also hit a new intraday high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 72 points or 0.2%.
The tech-heavy index was the last of the major U.S. stock benchmarks to reach a record close this year — when it achieved the milestone Thursday. This move has been fueled by enthusiasm over artificial intelligence, which has lifted mega-cap tech stocks – and the broader market – through 2023 and into this year. Slowing inflation, and the Federal Reserve’s ensuing pivot toward rate cuts forecasted for later in 2024, have also contributed the Nasdaq’s recovery from a difficult 2022.
The Nasdaq Composite over the last five years
“We’re seeing this big run up in tech because there’s a massive emphasis on what it might be — there’s so much emphasis on AI and this big sort-of redux of the late 90s,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group.
“People [now] just completely disregard the rest of the market. And that’s generally does not turn out well,” Cox added.
On a weekly basis, the S&P 500, which also popped to a record close on Thursday, is tracking for a roughly 0.6% advance, while the Nasdaq is up 1.3%. This puts the two indexes on pace for their seventh positive week over the last eight. The 30-stock Dow is the laggard, down 0.2%.
Major averages ended another positive month as the rally driven by an artificial intelligence boom and hopes for rate cuts chugged along. The Nasdaq was the best performer in February with a 6.1% gain. The S&P 500 climbed 5.2%, while the Dow added 2.2% for its first four-month winning streak since May 2021.
Troubled regional bank New York Community Bancorp declined 24% after the lender announced a leadership change and disclosed issues with its internal controls. The bank is already down more than 63% in 2024.
Data released Thursday showed the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, rose 0.4% in January, in line with expectations.
