The S&P 500 rose above 5,600 for the first time on Wednesday, led by the technology sector and continued hopes for an interest rate hike sooner, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave a second day of testimony to Congress, a day before fresh inflation data.
At 13:56 ET (17:56 GMT), the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.70% to a record high of 5,617.6 and was up 0.9%. The index was trading up 189 points, or 0.5%.
Technology continues to dominate as Apple (NASDAQ:) rises to reclaim its throne as the most valuable company
Technology continues to support the broader market’s record run, helped by a rise in shares of Nvidia and Apple, the latter of which rose 1% to overtake Microsoft as the most valuable company, amid fresh investor optimism about iPhone sales.
Apple is targeting to ship 10% more new iPhones in 2024 than last year, hoping that AI-powered iPhones will help stimulate demand, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:) shares rose about 1% as the software giant reportedly prepared to give up its observer seat on OpenAI’s board amid growing regulatory scrutiny of generative artificial intelligence in Europe and the United States.
Keith Dolliver, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel, wrote to OpenAI on Tuesday, explaining that while the observer seat provided valuable insights into the board’s activities without compromising its independence, it was no longer necessary, given that Microsoft had “seen significant progress from the newly formed board.”
Meanwhile, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:) shares rose more than 2%, leading the broader chip and technology sector higher.
Powell sees path to soft landing
The head of the U.S. Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that he still sees a soft landing for the U.S. economy even as the central bank insists on restrictive monetary policy measures to reduce inflation.
But the Fed chairman reiterated comments he made a day earlier, saying that “disinflation” was not the only risk and that the central bank needed to “be aware of where the labor market is.”
The Fed chair’s comments showed that traders largely maintained their bets on a September rate cut, with a greater than 72% chance of a 25 basis point cut during the month.
Powell’s comments also shed light on upcoming inflation data, due out on Thursday.
Energy stocks rise as oil prices rise, crude inventories fall
Energy stocks rose, shrugging off recent slumps in the wake of Exxon (NYSE:) and BP (NYSE:) warnings of lower refining profits, as oil prices rose on data showing weekly stockpiles and gasoline inventories fell more than expected.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday showed that U.S. oil inventories unexpectedly fell by 3.4 million barrels last week, compared with expectations for an increase of 700,000 barrels.
Baker Hughes What (Nasdaq:), Chevron BMW Corp (NYSE:BMW) and Phillips 66 (NYSE:P) were the biggest gainers in the energy sector on the day.
(Peter Norris and Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
