Nasdaq, S&P 500 Reach New Record Intraday Highs
Extending the upward trend seen over the past few sessions, stocks continue to turn in a strong performance in mid-day trading on Friday. With the continued advance, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have reached new record intraday highs.
The major averages have given back some ground in recent trading but remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 191.50 points or 0.6 percent at 35,014.85, the Nasdaq is up 111.18 points or 0.8 percent at 14,795.77 and the S&P 500 is up 34.57 points or 0.8 percent at 4,402.05.
The continued strength on Wall Street partly reflects a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from several big-name companies.
Shares of Snap (SNAP) are soaring after the Snapchat parent reported an unexpected second quarter profit on better than expected revenues.
Social media giant Twitter (TWTR) has also moved notably higher after reporting second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and providing upbeat revenue guidance.
Shares of American Express (AXP) have also jumped after the financial services company reported second quarter results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines.
On the other hand, shares of Intel (INTC) have come under pressure after the semiconductor giant reported better than expected second quarter results but provided disappointing guidance.
Housing stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 2 percent.
The index continues to rebound after ending Monday’s trading at its lowest closing level in almost four months.
Significant strength has also emerged among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.
Pharmaceutical and networking stocks are also seeing notable strength on the day, while oil service stocks remain under pressure amid a modest decrease by the price of crude oil.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved notably higher on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index surged up by 1.4 percent, the German DAX Index jumped by 1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have climbed off their early lows but remain in negative territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.1 basis points at 1.286 percent.
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