S&P 500 Reaches New High as Wall Street Rallies with Micron Driving Tech Gains

2 min read | September 26, 2024 08:03 AM PDT | By Team Kalkine Media

S&P 500 Reaches New High as Wall Street Rallies with Micron Driving Tech Gains — Image source: shutterstock

Highlights

Wall Street experienced a robust start to trading, driven by positive jobless claims data and pledges from China to stimulate economic growth.
The Nasdaq index rose by 1.2%, while the S&P 500 reached a record intraday high of 5,758.81 points.
Micron Technology’s strong earnings report boosted technology stocks, with significant gains observed in related firms.

Market Overview

On Thursday, Wall Street began trading on a positive note, buoyed by better-than-expected jobless claims figures and renewed commitments from Chinese officials to enhance their economy. The Nasdaq opened with a 1.2% increase, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 rose by 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively. This momentum propelled the S&P 500 to an all-time intraday high of 5,758.81 points, marking its continued streak of record-setting closing values.

A major catalyst for this surge was Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU), which reported earnings that exceeded expectations. Following this announcement, Micron’s shares surged by 16%, subsequently lifting other technology stocks, including Nvidia Corp, Arm Holdings PLC (NASDAQ), and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ, ETR, SWX).

Further bolstering market sentiment, the U.S. Labor Department reported a decline in jobless claims to a four-month low. Applications dropped by 4,000 to 218,000 for the week ending September 21, falling below analysts’ forecasts of 224,000. This positive development contributed to a more optimistic economic outlook.

Additionally, Chinese leaders expressed intentions to implement necessary fiscal measures aimed at achieving a 5% growth target for the year, further enhancing investor confidence.

In conjunction with these events, the U.S. economy was confirmed to have grown by 3% in the second quarter. This information, released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, underscored the nation’s stronger performance relative to the UK and Eurozone, which recorded growth rates of 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively.

The combination of favorable earnings reports and solid economic data positioned Wall Street for a strong trading day, particularly in the technology sector, which has been a significant driver of recent market gains.

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