Investing.com – The S&P 500 hit a record high on Monday, shrugging off a rise in Treasury yields as technology stocks continued to rise amid continued Federal Reserve remarks and key economic data due later this week.
At 2:27 pm ET (1827 GMT), the index was up 1% and had previously hit a record high of 5,488.82, up 1.2% and up 220 points, or 0.6%.
Big tech companies continue to grow; Apple aims for Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:) crown
Big tech companies including Amazon (NASDAQ:), Microsoft, Apple (NASDAQ:) led the broader market gains, with the latter up more than 2%, adding to recent gains as it seeks to usurp Microsoft as the most valuable company. following your plans to market. artificial intelligence.
The tech surge has lifted the value of Apple and Microsoft to $3.35 trillion, with many talking about the chances of continued growth for the tech companies.
“In short, we believe this tech bull market has legs that will eventually spread to the rest of software, consumer tech, cybersecurity, semi-finished products and infrastructure over the next 12 to 18 months,” Wedbush analysts said.
Fed Speaker Warns of Rate Cuts
Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said Monday he expects a rate cut only if the economy performs as expected, as current rate levels are likely to reduce inflation and head off the risk of rising inflation.
“And if everything turns out as predicted, I think one rate cut would be appropriate by the end of the year,” Harker said, although he added that two cuts or no rate cut were also possible.
“I think it’s entirely possible that there will be two layoffs this year, or no layoffs at all, if the data turns out to be wrong one way or another.”
These remarks come ahead of May Day, and many are keen to assess whether the consumer continues to show strength.
Several Fed officials are scheduled to speak this week, including the New York Fed president, the Minneapolis Fed president, the San Francisco Fed president and the Richmond Fed president.
Earnings on deck; Activist Investor Targets Autodesk; Gamestop falls sharply after shareholders meeting
Lennar (NYSE:), Kroger (NYSE:), Darden Restaurants (NYSE:) and CarMax (NYSE:) will report quarterly earnings this week.
Autodesk (NASDAQ:) shares rose 7% after the Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Starboard Value had taken a nearly $500 million stake in the design software maker and is now advocating for change.
Shares of video game retailer and meme darling GameStop (NYSE:) fell 11% after the company did not provide further information about its future path and instead confirmed it plans to cut costs by closing stores.
AMC plummets after IPO, Virgin Galactic plummets due to reverse stock split
AMC Networks (NASDAQ:) shares fell 30% after the entertainment company announced a $125 million convertible stock offering.
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE:) shares fell 15% after a 1-for-20 reverse stock split went into effect, as the space company tries to boost its share price, which has fallen more than 70% this year after the company temporarily postponed spaceflight missions.