Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on August 4, 2022.
Source: New York Stock Exchange
Stocks were mixed on Friday after the market finished its fourth straight winning month and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite hit its first record closing high since November 2021.
the Nasdaq It rose by 0.4%, while it rose Standard & Poor's 500 He added 0.3%. the Dow Jones Industrial Average It was marginally higher.
The tech-heavy index was the last of the major U.S. stock indexes to reach a record closing high this year — when it achieved the milestone on Thursday. The move was driven by enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, which has lifted big tech stocks – and the broader market – through 2023 and into this year. Slowing inflation, and the Fed's subsequent shift toward expected interest rate cuts later in 2024, also contributed to the Nasdaq's recovery from a difficult 2022.
Nasdaq Composite Index over the past five years
“We're seeing this huge advance in technology because there's a huge focus on what can be; there's a big focus on artificial intelligence and that kind of big iteration of the late '90s,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial. group.
“the people 1709307342 Just completely ignore the rest of the market. This generally does not go well, Cox added.
On a weekly basis, the S&P 500, which also reached a record close on Thursday, is tracking a roughly 0.4% advance, while the Nasdaq is up 0.9%. This puts the two indicators on pace for their seventh positive week over the past eight. The 30-stock Dow Jones index was the laggard, down about 0.4%.
The major averages closed out another positive month with a continued rally driven by the AI boom and hopes for interest rate cuts. The Nasdaq was the best performer in February with a gain of 6.1%. the Standard & Poor's 500 It rose by 5.2%, while it rose Dao It added 2.2% in its first four-month winning streak since May 2021.
Troubled regional bank New York Community Bancorp It fell by 28% after the bank announced a change in leadership and revealed problems with its internal controls. The bank is already down more than 67% in 2024.
Data released Thursday showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure, rose 0.4% in January, in line with expectations.
