S&P closes at 46th new high for this year – New York Report
The S&P 500 rose to a record high yesterday on hopes that China will take further accommodative monetary policy action if needed, while merger deals kept traders focused even as volumes were below average.
It was the 46th time the S&P closed at record level this year.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 7.84 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 17,817.9, the S&P 500 gained 5.91 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 2,069.41 and the Nasdaq Composite added 41.92 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 4,754.89.
The bullish sentiment, which saw the Dow too closing at a record high, was helped by the expectation that central banks will continue to boost equities and cut rates.
“You tend not to cut rates once, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. This could be the first in a series.
“The question is, how much they are going to have to do before it works,” said Brian Battle, director of trading at Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago.
Apple shares, up 1.9 per cent to $118.63, led the outperforming Nasdaq.
The company was within one per cent of reaching a $700bn market capitalisation.
RenaissanceRe Holdings agreed to buy Platinum Underwriters Holdings for $1.9bn. Platinum closed up 21.1 per cent at $74.19.
Cimatron jumped 42 per cent to $8.65 on its heaviest ever one-day volume after 3D Systems agreed to buy the company for $97m. Shares of 3D jumped 6.1 per cent to $37.31.