Nasdaq hits a record high as US stocks rise – New York Report
US STOCKS ended sharply higher yesterday and the Nasdaq logged a record high close, led by a rebound in technology and healthcare stocks and optimism that Greece would avoid defaulting on its debt.
Reports that Athens and its creditors were near a deal pushed the euro higher against the dollar, partly reversing recent moves. EU officials, however, dismissed Greek claims an aid agreement was being drafted.
Investors said US stocks were oversold in the previous session, when concerns about Greece and foreign exchange pushed Wall Street to its steepest fall in three weeks.
The S&P has inched up to a handful of record high closes in May. But the stock market has failed to make what some traders see as meaningful gains, in part because they are concerned about when the Federal Reserve will start to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006.
“People felt yesterday was an overreaction and I would agree,” said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois. “The fact that the market has been staying at its peaks for as long as it has, with only modest pullbacks, is fairly encouraging.”
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 121.45 points, or 0.67 per cent, to end at 18,162.99 points. The S&P 500 gained 19.28 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 2,123.48 and the Nasdaq Composite added 73.84 points, or 1.47 per cent, to 5,106.59.
It was the S&P’s strongest day since 14 May and the Nasdaq’s strongest since January, lifting it to its first record close since 24 April.