S&P 500 and Nasdaq Close at Record Highs as Tech Shares Rally Sharply
Key Takeaways
- •The S&P 500 closed at a new record high of 7,736.53 with a 1.79% gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also set a fresh record at 54,091.42.
- •Palantir Technologies posted the session's largest gain of 29.45% after its earnings and forward guidance exceeded analyst expectations.
- •Semiconductor and AI-related stocks dominated the top performers, with Arm Holdings rising 17.39% and numerous chip supply chain companies gaining over 5%.
- •AMD shares fell approximately 5.3% in after-hours trading despite beating estimates with EPS of $1.66 and revenue of $11.5 billion.
- •SpaceX delivered its first-ever quarterly earnings report, posting a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.09 per share on revenue of $7.8 billion, though shares declined 4.45% after hours.
U.S. equities finished sharply higher, with all major indices posting gains of at least 1.7% as risk appetite remained firmly in control. Technology shares led the rally, pushing the Nasdaq indices to the top of the leaderboard, while both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at fresh record highs. The breadth of participation extended across multiple technology subsectors — semiconductors, software, cybersecurity, and AI infrastructure all advanced — while the small-cap Russell 2000 also recorded a solid advance, reflecting demand well beyond mega-cap leadership.
Closing Levels and Performance:
- Nasdaq 100: 29,733.16, +956.36 points (+3.32%)
- Nasdaq Composite: 26,584.99, +671.10 points (+2.59%)
- Russell 2000: 3,036.98, +55.07 points (+1.85%)
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 54,091.42, +908.11 points (+1.71%)
- S&P 500: 7,736.53, +136.04 points (+1.79%) — new record close
Notable Winners (gains of 5% or more):
The session's biggest movers were dominated by semiconductor and AI-related names, with companies across the chip supply chain — from designers and manufacturers to equipment and optical component suppliers — represented among the top gainers.
- Palantir (PLTR): +29.45%
- Arm (ARM): +17.39%
- Whirlpool (WHR): +13.80%
- Marvell (MRVL): +12.81%
- Albemarle (ALB): +12.65%
- Coherent (COHR): +12.35%
- SanDisk (SNDK): +10.97%
- Intel (INTC): +10.84%
- Super Micro Computer (SMCI): +10.61%
- SpaceX: +9.43%
- Corning (GLW): +9.06%
- Credo Technology (CRDO): +8.96%
- Dell Technologies (DELL): +8.92%
- Lumentum (LITE): +8.92%
- Defiance Drone & Modern Warfare ETF (JEDI): +8.64%
- Skyworks Solutions (SWKS): +8.17%
- Lam Research (LRCX): +7.85%
- Micron (MU): +7.59%
- Qualcomm (QCOM): +7.33%
- CrowdStrike (CRWD): +7.16%
- AMD (AMD): +7.00%
- KLA (KLAC): +6.95%
- Broadcom (AVGO): +6.61%
- Nebius (NBIS): +6.19%
- Caterpillar (CAT): +5.57%
- VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH): +5.55%
- Palo Alto Networks (PANW): +5.53%
- Applied Materials (AMAT): +5.48%
- Texas Instruments (TXN): +5.43%
- Shopify (SHOP): +5.38%
- Datadog (DDOG): +5.35%
- Ciena (CIEN): +5.21%
- Cisco (CSCO): +5.08%
Palantir led the session's gains after its earnings and forward guidance released the previous day beat expectations.
After-Hours Earnings:
Among the stocks on the winners list, both AMD and SpaceX moved lower in after-hours trading following their earnings reports. It is not uncommon for stocks to pull back after quarterly results that exceed consensus, particularly when expectations heading into the report are elevated.
AMD reported a revenue and EPS beat, with earnings per share coming in at $1.66 versus an expected $1.62, and revenues of $11.5 billion versus the $11.31 billion consensus. Despite the beat, shares traded down approximately 5.3% in after-hours activity.
SpaceX reported its first earnings, with a per-share loss of $0.09 versus an expected loss of $0.24. Revenues came in at $7.8 billion versus the $6.83 billion expected. The report marked the company's initial quarterly earnings disclosure. Shares traded down 4.45% in after-hours trading.