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Wall Street climbed on Wednesday on the back of a jump in technology stocks, with the benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) coming within a whisker of hitting the historic 5,000 points mark for the first time ever.
A majority of the “Magnificent 7″ club gained, while cybersecurity stocks were given a boost after Fortinet’s (FTNT) solid quarterly results and guidance.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND) added 0.90% to 15,750.10 points in afternoon trade, while the Dow (DJI) was up 0.45% to 38,694.77 points. The blue-chip index’s advance was capped by a post-earnings fall in pharmaceutical giant Amgen (AMGN).
The S&P 500 (SP500) was higher by 0.82% to 4,995.02 points. It earlier hit a session high at 4,998.65 points, within striking distance of the 5,000 mark.
Of the 11 S&P sectors, nine were in the green.
The continued rally in technology stocks this year has largely been able to help traders offset concerns over massive valuations and a pushback by the Federal Reserve against the market’s aggressive interest rate cut expectations. Even a continued rout in shares of New York Community Bank (NYCB) – which has restoked fears over the health of regional banks – has not appeared to dent Wall Street’s upward march.
On Wednesday, a deluge of earnings reports from several major names grabbed the spotlight.
Enphase Energy (ENPH) and Emerson Electric (EMR) surged more than 10% each and were the top two percentage gainers on the S&P 500 (SP500). The solar equipment maker said it expects its inventory levels to normalize and demand to pick up by the end of next quarter. Meanwhile, the electrical equipment manufacturer reported faster quarterly sales growth.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) was a notable S&P percentage gainer as well, after the restaurant chain delivered another strong quarter driven by continued demand for its tacos, burritos and salad bowls.
Uber Technologies (UBER) seesawed as investors parsed its quarterly top and bottom line beat which was driven by a jump in gross bookings.
VF Corp (VFC) was the top percentage loser on the S&P 500 (SP500), after the Vans-parent’s latest quarterly results left little doubt that the footwear and apparel maker was in need of a comprehensive and, most likely, painful strategic rehaul.
Gilead Sciences (GILD) was another top S&P percentage loser after the drugmaker issued a lackluster annual sales guidance.
Theme park and movie giant Walt Disney (DIS) will report earnings after the closing bell.
Turning to the fixed-income markets, Treasury yields were slightly higher. Earlier, a record $42B 10-year note auction traded through, for the first 10-year stop auction in a year. The results showed that there was strong demand for bonds.
The longer-end 30-year yield (US30Y) was up 2 basis points to 4.32%, while the 10-year yield (US10Y) was also up 2 basis points to 4.11%. The shorter-end more rate-sensitive 2-year yield (US2Y) was up 1 basis point to 4.42%.
See live data on how Treasury yields are doing across the curve at the Seeking Alpha bond page.
Looking at non-earnings related moves, Paramount Global (PARA) (PARAA) slid and was among the top S&P 500 (SP500) percentage losers, after CNBC’s David Faber said that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) likely has no “real interest” in acquiring Paramount (PARA) (PARAA). Warner Bros. (WBD) slipped as well.
