US: Bullish sentiment pushes Nasdaq, S&P 500 to records

[NEW YORK] US stocks had another healthy day of trading on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq again posting records and the Dow dipping only slightly.

The continued vigor in equity markets appeared to be driven by positive feeling about Federal Reserve policy, after the US central bank announced Wednesday it would begin tapering the bond purchases meant to support the economy during the pandemic.

Though rising inflation is a concern, markets have generally welcomed the Fed's easy money policies, and Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments said investors approve of the slow approach to dialing back its stimulus or raising interest rates.

"The Fed has made it very clear that easy money continues to be here to stay for the foreseeable future," he told AFP, noting that much of the growth on Thursday was in sectors that benefit from the low-rate environment.

The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.4 per cent to close at another all-time high of 4,680.06, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.8 per cent at 15,940.30, also a record.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1 per cent to 36,124.23.

Dow member Verizon Communications dropped 2.1 per cent after the telecom giant along with AT&T agreed to delay deployment of a new 5G frequency band, citing air safety concerns.

Moderna closed 17.9 per cent lower after cutting its forecast for Covid-19 vaccine deliveries in 2021 and pushing back some doses to next year.

AFP