New York Report: Wall Street hits fresh high in turkey rally
THE Dow and the S&P 500 closed at record highs yesterday, led by Hewlett-Packard’s jump a day after the personal computer maker’s earnings, while the Nasdaq finished at a fresh 13-year high.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq got its biggest boost from Apple, which rose 2.4 per cent to $545.96, the stock’s highest level since January. Technology stocks have lagged the broader market this year, with the S&P information technology sector index rising almost 21 per cent, compared with the S&P 500’s 27 per cent surge.
“We’re seeing some rotation into the tech sector, which was left out of broader market gains,” said Frank Davis at LEK Securities.
Hewlett-Packard shares shot up nine per cent to $27.36, the highest since August, after the company reported stronger-than-expected results late Tuesday.
Expectations were low for HP’s fourth quarter following a disappointing third quarter and after tech bellwethers IBM and Cisco Systems reported poor results.
Overall trading volume was light at 4.37bn shares, according to BATS. Many traders were out for the Thanksgiving holiday, as the US stock market will be closed today. On Friday, the market will close at 1pm, or 6pm London time.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 24.53 points or 0.15 per cent, to end at 16,097.33, a record closing high. The S&P 500 gained 4.48 points or 0.25 per cent, to finish at 1,807.23, a record closing high. The Nasdaq Composite added 27.001 points or 0.67 per cent, to close at 4,044.75.