[New York Stock Market] US S&P 500 Hits All-Time High in 2 Years... Surpasses 4800 Points

Tech Stocks Including AI Rise 1.23%
Dow Up 1.05%, Nasdaq Closes Up 1.70%

One of the representative stock indices of the U.S. New York Stock Exchange, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index, reached an all-time high for the first time in two years on the 19th (local time).

On that day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the S&P 500 index closed at 4,839.81, up 58.87 points (1.23%) from the previous session, surpassing the previous closing record. The previous closing record was 4,796.56 on January 3, 2022. The intraday high also reached a record 4,842.07.

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On the same day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 395.19 points (1.05%) to 37,863.80, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed up 255.32 points (1.70%) at 15,310.97.

The S&P 500 index is one of the representative U.S. stock market indices calculated by a market capitalization-weighted method based on the price movements of about 500 large-cap stocks listed on the U.S. stock market.

This index fell 19% in 2022 due to the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate hikes in response to high inflation and concerns over economic slowdown. However, last year, large tech stocks known as the "Magnificent 7" (Apple, Amazon.com, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Tesla, Nvidia) rebounded, causing the index to surge 24% over the year.

Since the beginning of the new year, the timing of breaking the two-year high was somewhat delayed due to the weakening expectations for an early Fed rate cut amid economic data releases and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The stock price rally on this day was again led by major tech stocks such as Nvidia, Microsoft, and Meta. Nvidia closed at $594.91, up 4.17% from the previous day, approaching the $600 mark, while Microsoft rose 1.22% to close at $398.67, just shy of the $400 level. Bloomberg reported that Meta, which had at one point lost more than three-quarters of its market value, has fully recovered those losses.

Matt Stucky, Chief Portfolio Manager at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, emphasized, "In the minds of investors, companies leading the artificial intelligence (AI) sector or possessing differentiated products in the technology field are strongly driving the market," adding, "This trend has continued from the end of last year into this year."

Experts expect this upward trend to continue for the time being. Tom Logue, strategist at Commonwealth Financial Network, said, "Just because the stock market hits new highs doesn't mean concerns about potential recession risks or prolonged high interest rates disappear," but added, "It will help maintain Wall Street's optimism."

Jeff Mills, Chief Investment Strategist at Bessemer Trust, stated, "If the economy continues to grow and inflation tends to decline as we expect, it will be quite positive for the stock market averages," adding, "While it may be difficult to see a 20-25% increase, it will create an environment that slowly lifts the market for another solid year."