Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
NEW YORK: The three main US indexes climbed to fresh record-highs for the fourth day in a row on Thursday, propelled by gains in technology stocks.
Eight of the 11 major S&P indexes were higher, led by the information technology sector, which got a boost from Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.com.
Tech stocks, which have led much of the recent rally, have risen about 26% this year.
Data on Thursday pointed to underlying strength in the economy despite weather-related disruptions, with the trade deficit narrowing in August and jobless claims falling more than expected last week.
Focus will now shift to the more comprehensive monthly jobs report, which is due on Friday.
Global stocks came off all-time highs on Thursday as minutes from the European Central Bank’s last meeting showed policymakers were concerned about the euro’s rapid rise.
Investors are also gearing up for the upcoming third-quarter corporate earnings.
Earnings of S&P 500 companies are expected to rise 5.5% in the quarter from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters data. That would be down from double-digit growth in the first two quarters, but many strategists are optimistic results will be better than expected.
At 9:46am EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 16.86 points, or 0.07%, at 22,678.5, and the S&P 500 was up 4.39 points, or 0.17%, at 2,542.13.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 22.88 points, or 0.35%, at 6,557.51.
Shares of Constellation Brands were up 3.4 % after the brewer beat Wall Street’s profit estimates for the ninth straight quarter.
Microsoft was up 0.4% after Canaccord Genuity raised its rating on the stock to ”buy”.
Biogen was up 4.6% after Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the stock to ”overweight”.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,657 to 839. On the Nasdaq, 1,452 issues rose and 924 fell. - Reuters
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