US market: S&P 500, Nasdaq clock another record high as tech stocks rally | Key points

The momentum seen in the US stock market last week continued on Monday as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 soared to close at record highs.

Both the indices were in the green throughout the trading session. Nasdaq peaked to its highest-ever of 17,935.98, before pairing some of the gains and settling at 17,857.02, which was up 0.95% as against the previous close.

The S&P 500 hit a record high of 5,488.5, before marginally pairing some of the gains and closing at 5,473.23, still up 0.77% as compared to the preceding session’s close.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 0.49% to close at 38,778.10, but remains behind its all-time of May 16 when it surpassed 40,000.

Tech stocks rally

Shares of megacaps Apple and Microsoft gained significantly by 1.97% and 1.31%, respectively. Apple closed at $216.67 per share, and Microsoft ended at $448.37 apiece.

Apple shares have been rallying since the past week, after the company unveiled a slew of AI features, and announced a tie-up with OpenAI during its flagship annual conference last week.

Other AI stocks also pushed the indices, with Broadcom rallying 5.41% to close at $1,828.8, and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co advancing 2.17% to settle at $941. Micron Technology also logged a gain of 4.58% to close at $147.83.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index advanced 89.79 points or 1.6% to settle at its highest-ever of 5,688.1. However, leading AI stock Nvidia declined 0.66% from its record high to close at $130.98.

Among the S&P 500 sectoral indices, technology and consumer durables were the major gainers, whereas real estate and utilities ended in the red.

A total of 61 shares listed on Nasdaq Composite clocked new 52-week highs, whereas S&P 500 recorded 37 new 52-week highs.

The strong performance of the US stock market comes ahead of the release of US Federal Reserve officials' speeches on Tuesday. Their comments relate to the monetary policy meeting held last week, where the benchmark lending rates were left unchanged in the range of 5.25%-5.5%. The Fed lowered its rate cut forecast from three to one for calendar year 2024.