NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – After the long weekend, some US stock indices reached further record highs on Tuesday. While the leading index Dow Jones Industrial remained just below its record from Friday, the broad S&P 500 and the NASDAQ 100 were able to reach highs again after a break of a few days. The technology-heavy stock market barometer surpassed the 30,000 point mark for the first time.
In addition to the fantasy surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), which has long been relevant, the latter two indices also reflected the hope for a framework agreement in the Iran war, which had already been priced in the day before in Europe and Asia when US trading paused due to the holiday. Broadly speaking, it didn’t matter much that new attacks in Iran and Lebanon overshadowed the ongoing negotiations to end the war. A market observer sees both sides in the military conflict “still closer to an agreement than recently.”
The S&P 500 ultimately gained 0.61 percent to 7,519.12 points, while the Nasdaq 100, with the tailwind in terms of AI, rose 1.76 percent to 30,001.32 points. The two indices showed more momentum than the standard values, which have more weight in the Dow. This fell by 0.23 percent to 50,461.68 points. For a record he would have had to rise above 50,830 points.
Meanwhile, market strategist Ian Lyngen of BMO Capital Markets was more cautious: “While we would like to share this optimism in the market, there have already been so many setbacks in the negotiations between Washington and Tehran that we will remain cautious until there is more tangible progress.”
In the technology sector, chip values once again set the pace. After their rally recently took a break and investors focused more on sector stocks in Asia and Europe, demand for US stocks is now increasing again.
This was particularly evident at Micron (Micron Technology) with a price that jumped by almost a fifth to just under $896 at the top of the S&P 500. This meant that the company’s market value broke the trillion dollar mark for the first time. The major Swiss bank UBS had tripled its price target in a study. As more details become known about the structural changes AI is bringing to the entire storage space, shares are likely to continue to rise in value, it said.
At $1,625, the target level named by Timothy Arcuri reaches a whole new level for Micron, as the targets of other renowned analysis houses are significantly lower. In the Bloomberg news agency’s list, Ricky Seo from the British bank HSBC was one of the biggest optimists with $1,100.
The price jump at the semiconductor company Marvell Technology was also significant at a good six percent. There was a buy recommendation from HSBC here – with a price target that was also multiplied. The $300 targeted by Frank Lee is also the highest target stated by analysts to date. The expert sees the company as a beneficiary of spending in the area of artificial intelligence.
Shares in space companies that do business with rockets, satellites or solutions for these were also in high demand. SpaceX’s upcoming mega IPO continues to generate imagination among potential co-profiteers, it was said in the market. The papers from MDA Space (MDA), Firefly Aerospace and Redwire rose between 4 and 26 percent.
At the bottom of the S&P 500, AutoZone shares fell nine percent. The auto parts retailer was disappointed with its sales development in the last quarter./la/men
— By Lutz Alexander, dpa-AFX —