S&P 500 Jumps To New Record Intraday High

(RTTNews) - After moving moderately higher early in the session, stocks have seen further upside over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages are extending the upward move seen on Thursday, with the S&P 500 reaching a new record intraday high.

The major averages have continued to advance in recent trading, reaching new highs for the session. The Nasdaq is up 178.44 points or 1.2 percent at 15,234.09, the S&P 500 is up 44.99 points or 0.9 percent at 4,825.93 and the Dow is up 319.39 points or 0.9 percent at 37,788.00.

The run to record highs on Wall Street partly reflects continued strength among tech stocks, which helped lead the advance on Thursday.

Optimism about the outlook for earnings may be contributing to the continued strength in the tech sector ahead of next week's release of quarterly results from companies like Intel (INTC), IBM Corp. (IBM) and Netflix (NFLX).

Computer hardware stocks are seeing substantial strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 4.6 percent to a record intraday high.

Supermicro (SMCI) has led the sector higher, skyrocketing by 33.7 percent after raising its fiscal second quarter guidance amid strong market and end customer demand for its rack-scale, AI and Total IT Solutions.

Semiconductor stocks are also extending the rally seen on Thursday, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 3.3 percent. The index has also reached a new record intraday high.

Outside of the tech sector, notable strength has emerged among banking stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain being posted by the KBW Bank Index.

Meanwhile, the Dow has received a boost from a jump by shares of Travelers (TRV), with the insurance giant spiking by 5.5 percent.

Travelers is moving sharply higher after the company reported fourth quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.

The rally on Wall Street also comes after the University of Michigan released a report showing a significant improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment as well as a continued decrease in inflation expectations.

The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index surged to 78.8 in January after jumping to 69.7 in December. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 70.0.

With the much bigger than expected increase, the consumer sentiment index reached its highest level since hitting 81.2 in July 2021.

The University of Michigan's report also showed continued decreases in both year-ahead and long-run inflation expectations.

Year-ahead inflation expectations slipped to 2.9 percent in January after plunging to 3.1 percent in December, hitting the lowest level since December 2020.

Long-run inflation expectations also edged down to 2.8 percent in January from 2.9 percent in December, falling just below the 2.9-3.1 percent range seen for 26 of the last 30 months.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks finished a choppy trading session little changed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed just above the unchanged line, the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have climbed off their early lows but continue to see modest weakness. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.7 basis points at 4.161 percent.