Apple shares jumped 3.1% to an all-time high as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq moved to fresh record highs on Monday, led by technology stocks, as investors responded positively to the Federal Reserve’s dovish comments on tapering in monetary stimulus and what that might mean for the economic recovery.
Shashank Nayar and David French and Reuters:
Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com, Google-owner Alphabet Inc rose between 0.9% and 2.5%, helping the tech-heavy Nasdaq outperform the S&P 500 and the Dow.
High-growth tech stocks tend to benefit from expectations of lower rates because their value rests heavily on future earnings.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday the central bank would continue to be cautious in its approach to tapering its massive pandemic-era stimulus… “The market was wholly prepared for a taper timeline last week and the Fed not really commenting has helped give markets an added push on hopes that easy policies will help offset some risks around rising infection cases,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky. “Although, if the Fed continues to be so dovish in its policy meetings going ahead, markets might think that there are some problems brewing in the economic recovery process.”
The S&P 500 posted 74 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 137 new highs and 27 new lows.
MacDailyNews Take: With Apple shares hitting a new record ($153.49), the company is currently valued at $2.53 trillion and counting.