US: Tech shares lead stocks higher

LARGE technology companies enjoyed a positive session on Thursday, lifting the Nasdaq amid continued bullishness over artificial intelligence as investors awaited Apple earnings.

Shares of Amazon, Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft all forged higher in the wake of largely upbeat earnings reports in recent days. Apple, which reports results later on Thursday, jumped 2.2 per cent.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index finished at 15,840.96, up 1.5 per cent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.9 per cent to 38,225.66, while the broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.9 per cent to 5,064.20.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note retreated a day after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said an interest rate hike was unlikely.

“The investors are breathing a sigh of relief because Fed Chair Powell basically said that a rate hike is unlikely,” said Sam Stovall of CFRA Research. “And that I think was the biggest concern that investors had going into the Fed meeting where they thought that Powell would be more hawkish than he actually was.”

Among individual companies, Moderna surged 12.7 per cent as it pointed to progress in its pharmaceutical pipeline and reaffirmed it would attain US$4 billion in revenues in 2024.

Rivian Automotive shot up 6.7 per cent after announcing it garnered an US$827 million incentive package from Illinois to expand its plant in the state.

Paramount Global gained 13.1 per cent following reports that it received a takeover proposal from Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management for US$26 billion.

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Peloton fell 2.5 per cent after announcing that Barry McCarthy would step down as CEO and that it would reduce headcount by about 15 per cent, or 400 jobs.

The exercise company has struggled following a drop in demand from Covid-19, when at-home fitness demand soared. AFP