XLNX - S&P Jumps to New Record High as Stimulus Bill Signed
U.S. stocks climbed to record highs Thursday as the comeback in tech shares resumed, while the signing of additional fiscal stimulus gave sentiment a further boost.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average came off its highs of the day, but still gained 188.57 points at 32,485.59.
The S&P advanced 40.53 points, or 1.5%, to reach 3,939.34, to reach an all-time high, its first record since Feb. 16.
The NASDAQ Composite popped 329.84 points, or 2.5%, to 13,398.67, amid a rotation back into tech shares. Tesla popped 4.7%, while Apple, Facebook, Alphabet and Netflix all advanced at least 3%.
The NASDAQ dipped into correction territory on Monday, falling more than 10% from its recent high. Now the tech-heavy benchmark is about 6% off its record high.
Chip stocks jumped sharply Thursday after China's semiconductor trade association formed a new group to work with their U.S. counterparts to ease recent trade tensions between the two countries. Nvidia and AMD jumped more than 4% each, while Xilinx popped 6.2%.
President Joe Biden signed a $1.9-trillion coronavirus relief package into law Thursday afternoon. The plan will send direct payments of up to $1,400 to most Americans, and will also put nearly $20 billion into COVID-19 vaccinations and $350 billion into state, local and tribal relief.
The White House said Thursday that stimulus checks could start hitting bank accounts this weekend.
The economic reopening, coupled with additional fiscal stimulus, accelerated the rotation into more cyclical sectors, such as energy. The S&P 500 energy sector has been the biggest winner this year, up 40% so far.
On the data front, investors cheered a slightly better-than-expected reading on weekly jobless claims. The U.S. Labor Department reported that first-time filings for unemployment insurance in the week ended March 6 totaled a seasonally adjusted 712,000, below the Dow Jones estimate of 725,000.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys dipped, raising yields to 1.53% from Wednesday's 1.52%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $1.69 to $66.13 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices revived 80 cents to $1,722.60.