From Nasdaq:

Wall Street’s main indexes climbed on Friday driven by strength in chip and megacap stocks. The S&P 500 is less than 1% from its record high despite a rocky start to the week following mixed earnings from top investment banks and mostly disappointing comments on the possibility of early interest-rate cuts from central bankers globally.

Semiconductor stocks Advanced Micro Devices, Marvell Technology, Nvidia, and Microchip Technology gained between 0.1% and 1% after Super Micro Computer lifted its Q2 profit forecast, sending its shares surging 10.1%. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index hit an all-time high and megacaps Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, and Apple added between 0.3% and 1.1%.

Also on tap are remarks from San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr for clues on the policy outlook before the blackout period begins ahead of a meeting on Jan. 31. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said more data was needed before any judgment can be made on rate cuts. Money market participants have toned down expectations for a 25-basis-point rate cut in March to 52%, nearing levels seen just before the central bank’s December policy meeting.

At 9:49 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 27.19 points, the S&P 500 was up 6.91 points, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 43.39 points. Travelers Cos jumped 5.6% after the insurer’s fourth-quarter profit more than doubled.

On the other hand, Comerica declined 0.8% after forecasting a drop in annual net interest income, while State Street advanced 4.7% after topping quarterly revenue expectations. Spirit Airlines rebounded 20.1% as it assessed options to refinance its 2025 debt maturities, while iRobot slumped 26.9% after a report said the European Union’s competition watchdog plans to block Amazon.com’s acquisition of the robot vacuum maker.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.92-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.75-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 38 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 41 new highs and 65 new lows.



Read more: US STOCKS-Wall St climbs, powered by chips, megacaps; earnings in focus