[New York Stock Market] S&P Surpasses 5000 Intraday for the First Time on Strong Earnings... ARM Up 48%

Israel and Hamas Ceasefire Talks at an Impasse... International Oil Prices Rise 3%

The three major indices of the U.S. New York stock market closed slightly higher on the 8th (local time) supported by strong corporate earnings. The S&P 500 index surpassed the 5000 mark intraday for the first time ever. Semiconductor company ARM surged 48% after reporting earnings that exceeded market expectations.

On that day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the blue-chip-focused Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 38,726.33, up 48.97 points (0.13%) from the previous session. The large-cap-focused S&P 500 index crossed 5000 just before the market closed but ended the day at 4997.91, up 2.85 points (0.06%), closing just below 5000. It set a new record high for the second consecutive day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed at 15,793.72, up 37.07 points (0.24%).

Corporate earnings supported the market. Walt Disney, which reported profits exceeding market expectations the previous day, rose 11.5%. Semiconductor company ARM soared 47.9% following earnings that surpassed market forecasts and an upward revision of future profit outlooks.

ARM reported fourth-quarter sales of $824 million and earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29. The market had expected sales of $761 million and EPS of $0.25, so the results exceeded expectations. For the first quarter of this year, ARM expects sales of $850 million to $900 million and EPS of $0.28 to $0.32, driven by strong demand in the automotive and artificial intelligence (AI) markets. Rene Haas, ARM’s CEO, said in an interview with Bloomberg News, "AI is never a hype cycle," adding, "We believe AI is the biggest opportunity. This is just the beginning."

Michael Aron, Chief Investment Strategist at State Street Global, said, "Better-than-expected earnings are continuing and contributing to quite positive movements in certain stocks," and forecasted, "Overall, from a sentiment perspective, the market can continue to reach new highs."

Comments from Federal Reserve officials maintaining a cautious stance on interest rate cuts continued that day. Thomas Barkin, President of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, reaffirmed in an interview with Bloomberg TV that "the Fed can be more patient in analyzing inflation data before cutting the benchmark interest rate."

Employment indicators also remained strong. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial jobless claims for the week of January 28 to February 3 were 218,000, down 9,000 from the previous week. This was slightly below the market forecast of 220,000. Continuing claims, which count those receiving unemployment benefits for at least two weeks, were 1,871,000 for the week of January 21 to 27, down 23,000 from the previous week. With jobless claims remaining historically low, investors are gradually understanding the Fed’s policy stance that draws a line under expectations for an early rate cut in March.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note is trading around 4.15%, and the 2-year Treasury yield is around 4.45%.

International oil prices are rising as ceasefire talks between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas remain at an impasse. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil prices rose more than 3%.