S&P 500 cruises past 2,700 as tech stocks climb: NASDAQ exceeds 7,000 for the first time

[SirLinksALot]

SOURCE: YAHOO FINANCE VIA REUTERS

URL: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-futures-rise-signs-strong-124113689.html

By Sruthi Shankar


U.S. stocks kicked off 2018 on a strong note on Tuesday, and world markets rose to new highs on Wednesday as early indications suggested it would be another year of synchronized global growth led by a robust European economy.

"If you look at the S&P 500 and what makes up the sectors, technology has the largest international exposure. When you look at driving futures sales, it has to come from growing economies," said Jeff Powell, managing partner of Polaris Wealth Advisors.

But gains in the technology sector were capped by a 2.43 percent drop in Intel (INTC.O) following a report that its processor chips had a fundamental design flaw. The stock was the biggest drag on all the three major indexes.

Rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) gained 6.5 percent. Nvidia (NVDA.O) and Micron (MU.O) were up 5.2 percent and 3 percent.

A report showed U.S. factory activity increased more than expected in December, boosted by a surge in new orders growth, in a further sign of strong economic momentum at the end of 2017.

The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity jumped to 59.7 in December from 58.2 in November.

The report comes ahead of the scheduled release by the Federal Open Market Committee of minutes of its December meeting.

Investors are likely to scan the release for hints on rate tightening action in the coming months and the impact of the U.S. tax overhaul on the economy and inflation.

The odds of a March rate hike jumped to 61.9 percent after the report from 56.3 percent before, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool.

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[Applewood]

I am one happy camper.  After years of burying my retirement nest egg in low or no growth accounts, I finally got around to really investing and it's paying off.  It's al, due to the success of the markets.  I just hope it lasts.