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A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite scaled to record highs Wednesday, with tech shares leading the charge following strong reports from Salesforce and Marvell Technology.
The broad market index gained 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 328 points higher, or 0.7%.
Salesforce climbed 9% after the company posted fiscal third-quarter revenue that beat estimates. Chipmaker Marvell also beat earnings expectations and issued strong fourth-quarter guidance, advancing 24%. The stock was headed for its best daily performance since May 26, 2023.
Those moves powered the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) to its first all-time high since July. It was last up 1.5%.
“People have come out and said, the tech trade’s over. If you look at sector performance, the stocks have lagged since July — but that doesn’t mean that they can’t reaccelerate,” Nancy Tengler, CEO of Laffer Tengler Investments, told CNBC. “You could argue that it’s good the market’s broadening out. But that doesn’t mean it has to be a zero-sum game, that technology cannot outperform.”
Wednesday’s moves come as investors await new U.S. employment data due Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the U.S. economy added 214,000 jobs in November.
A report released on Wednesday from ADP revealed that private payrolls grew less than expected in November. Companies added just 146,000 on the month, while economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated growth of 163,000 positions.
The data could give investors insight into the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves. Markets showed little reaction on Wednesday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economy was strong enough for the central bank to proceed cautiously on rate cuts.
“The labor market is better, and the downside risks appear to be less in the labor market. Growth is definitely stronger than we thought, and inflation is coming at a little higher. So the good news is that we can afford to be a little more cautious as we try to find neutral,” he said in a moderated discussion in New York.
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