Tech stocks fueled the S&P 500 to another all-time high.
Stocks rebounded as investors breathed a sigh of relief now that the Fed minutes are out, sending all three major indices higher. The S&P 500 reached its latest all-time high to hover above 4,358. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tacked on another 100 points, while the tech-laden Nasdaq closed modestly higher.
Policymakers in their FOMC minutes from the June meeting expressed a need for “patience” before making any changes to the Fed’s asset-buying program. This soothed investors’ fears about any sudden change in monetary policy.
Technology stocks were out front once again, including the likes of Apple and Amazon. For its part, Apple reached a new record high, closing at just above USD 144. In fact, while the S&P 500 has been on a tear, AAPL and AMZN have outperformed the broader index in the short term. Both tech stocks have advanced by double-digit percentages since early June while the S&P has increased just over 3% in the same period. Apple’s market cap is now USD 2.4 trillion.
The oil patch saw more volatility, with the crude oil price falling 1.5%, extending Tuesday’s declines amid stalled production talks involving OPEC+ countries.
Meme stocks continued their downward spiral, with AMC Entertainment feeling the brunt of the selling. The movie chain stock shed almost 10% on the day and is continuing under pressure in after-hours trading. It was not alone, as shares of GameStop extended recent declines and fell by 5%. AMC and GameStop have closed in the red for the past four trading sessions in their worst such stretch since May.
While meme stocks bucked the overall bullish trend, several stocks are continuing the market’s upward momentum in extended-hours trading.
Investors will be looking to see if anything could stop this runaway train that is the markets.
Gerelyn is a cryptocurrency and blockchain journalist who has been engaged in the space since mid-2017 when bitcoin was embarking on its first major bull run