Stocks' So-So Gains Are Enough to Ensure Another Record High

A few tech companies slip after leading the rally for months
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 23, 2024 3:55 PM CST
Stocks' So-So Gains Are Enough to Ensure Another Record High
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying Intuitive Machines' lunar lander, lifts off at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 15. Intuitive Machines reported Friday that it’s communicating with its lander, Odysseus.   (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Stocks clung to modest gains on Wall Street on Friday, giving the market another record high and a winning week:

  • The S&P 500 rose 1.77 points, or less than 0.1%, to 5,088.80, marking another record high for the benchmark index and its sixth winning week in the last seven, per the AP.
  • The Dow rose 62.42 points, or 0.2%, to 39,131.53.
  • The Nasdaq fell 44.80 points, or 0.3%, to 15,996.82.

The listless day for stocks capped off a mostly solid week of earnings when the technology sector once again powered the market higher. The sector has been driving the rally that started in October. Weakness in some technology companies on Friday weighed down the market, in a reversal from Thursday. Apple fell 1%. Nvidia eked out a 0.4% gain, after crossing the $2 trillion valuation mark earlier in the day. On Thursday, the chipmaker surged after reporting blockbuster demand for its semiconductors, which are used to power AI applications. A pullback by travel-related companies also checked gains elsewhere in the market. Booking.com tumbled 10.1%, dragging other travel-related companies down. The online travel service beat Wall Street's fourth-quarter sales and profit targets but issued a lukewarm forecast that spooked investors. Competitor Expedia Group fell 2%.

"Investors are sanguine, with political uncertainty, elevated valuations, and Fed uncertainty not able to dent the momentum in the market," said Mark Hackett of Nationwide. Earnings remained the big focus. Ticket seller and concert promoter Live Nation rose 2% after beating analysts' revenue forecasts. Sleep Number, which sells beds and bedding products, surged 33% after beating beat Wall Street's revenue forecasts. On the losing end, Warner Bros. Discovery fell 9.9% after reporting a bigger loss than Wall Street expected. Outside of earnings, Intuitive Machines, the company that made the first US lunar landing in more than 50 years, soared 15.8%.

(More stock market stories.)

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