From Nasdaq:

The S&P 500 surged to an intra-day record high on Friday for the first time in two years, reaching 4,828.56 points, fueled by gains in chipmakers and heavyweight technology stocks. This erased a more than 20% sell-off that stretched nine months into October 2022.

Lisa Erickson, head of public markets at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said that breaking the 4,800 point level would be a positive sentiment sign. Microsoft and Apple, the world’s two most valuable companies, rose 0.7% and 1.3% respectively.

Semiconductor stocks Qualcomm, Marvell Technology, Nvidia, and Microchip Technology each gained more than 2%, and Super Micro ComputerSMCI lifted its second-quarter profit forecast, sending shares surging over 30%. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index and S&P 500 information technology sector index hit record highs.

Travelers Cos jumped 5.6% after the insurer’s fourth-quarter profit more than doubled. iRobot slumped over 25% after a report said the European Union’s competition watchdog plans to block Amazon.com’s $1.4-billion acquisition.

Interest rate traders now see a 52% chance of a March rate cut, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. The University of Michigan’s preliminary survey showed consumer sentiment improved in January to its highest level since summer of 2021.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a 2.3-to-one ratio.



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