(Reuters) – The Nasdaq hit its first intraday high in more than two years on Friday, as chipmakers and tech stocks rode a rally sparked by Nvidia’s AI optimism.
The index has soared more than 57% from its December 2022 low, last up 0.7% to 16,224.626 points, surpassing its previous intraday high of 16,212.23 points on November 22, 2021.
The Nasdaq closed at a new high on Thursday, surpassing its closing high set in November 2021 for the first time.
The benchmark S&P 500 index confirmed its bull market in January, hitting new record highs several times and surpassing the psychological level of 5,000 points for the first time in February.
New excitement around AI led by Nvidia’s impressive outlook on February 21st led to big gains in tech and tech-related stocks, helping to offset gloom as bets on early interest rate cuts were tempered. There is.
NVIDIA, currently the third most valuable company on Wall Street, had its market capitalization exceed $2 trillion for the first time on February 23.
Nvidia’s stock rose 3.4%, while rival Advanced Micro Devices rose 3.8% to a record high. The broader Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 3.3% to a record high.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 are up 8.0% and 7.4%, respectively, since the beginning of the year, following double-digit gains in 2023.
(Reporting by Ankika Biswas, Johann M Cherian and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
