The S&P 500 notched its third straight record high on Thursday, with mega-cap technology stocks taking charge, as investors considered the specter of U.S. inflation.
Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com , Google parent Alphabet Inc and Facebook Inc , which account for a quarter of the S&P 500’s market capitalization, led shares on the S&P and tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Tesla Inc, Nvidia Corp and Moderna Inc also rallied on a day in which more stocks declined than advanced.
Traders snapped up shares that had missed out on the overall market marching higher the past week, according to Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel.
“The move into big tech is simply a trading opportunity. Big tech has been down for a week or so, underperforming the market pretty significantly,” Ghriskey said. “There are bargain hunters coming in, jumping on those securities.”
Apple added the most to the S&P, rising [2.07%], followed by Microsoft with a [0.98%] gain and Tesla adding [1.58%].
Data showed U.S. producer prices posted their largest annual increase in more than a decade last month, raising inflation concerns, after Wednesday’s U.S. consumer price index reading indicated the pace appeared to be slowing.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, it’s best to get a handle on inflation, if you know how, while you still can.
Inflation is repudiation. — Calvin Coolidge
When a business or an individual spends more than it makes, it goes bankrupt. When government does it, it sends you the bill. And when government does it for 40 years, the bill comes in two ways: higher taxes and inflation. Make no mistake about it, inflation is a tax and not by accident. — Ronald Reagan