US: Nasdaq jumps 1.2% to finish at fresh record

THE tech-rich Nasdaq surged to a fresh record on Monday at the start of a heavy week of economic news that includes a US Federal Reserve rate decision.

Large gains by chip company Broadcom, Google parent Alphabet and some other tech names helped lift the index 1.2 per cent to 20,173.89, just the second time the benchmark has closed above 20,000 points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3 per cent to 43,717.48, while the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.4 per cent to 6,074.08.

Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments pointed to SoftBank’s announcement that it would invest US$100 billion in the United States as being supportive of tech shares.

“There’s renewed optimism in semiconductor and big tech stocks,” Sarhan said.

But Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital said the market may take a breather until it receives key data points later in the week.

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“There’s a lot to digest this week,” Ablin said of a calendar that includes key retail sales and inflation data, as well as a Fed monetary policy decision.

Among individual companies, Honeywell International jumped 3.7 per cent after announcing it is considering spinning off its aerospace business, a move applauded by activist firm Elliott Investment Management.

Briefing.com said the announcement suggests that Honeywell’s “days as an industrial conglomerate may be coming to an end” in a note that pointed to General Electric’s recent break-up as a model of what could be ahead. AFP