Wednesday's early afternoon trade: tech lifts Nasdaq, S&P to record; IBM weighs on Dow

The Nasdaq and the S&P were trading at record levels in early afternoon on Wednesday, powered by technology stocks, while gains on the Dow were capped by a sharp drop in shares of IBM. IBM fell 4.7 percent to a one-year low after the company's quarterly revenue came in below expectations. The stock was the biggest drag on the Dow and the S&P 500.
The S&P tech sector has been the best performing sector this year despite concerns about stretched valuations as investors look for growth sectors immune to policy uncertainties. "At least in the second quarter and for the next quarter technology is the only sector that will see double-digit growth," said Tom Cassidy, chief investment officer at Univest Wealth Management Division.
"If you look at the sector, it isn't all that overvalued compared to the broader S&P index, except for a few names." Microsoft and Facebook were among the top-three boosts to the S&P and the Nasdaq. They are due to report results this week and next. Netflix's stellar results had propelled the Nasdaq to close at a record high on Tuesday, helping the index post its longest streak of gains since February 2015.
At 12:38 pm ET (1638 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 25.36 points, or 0.12 percent, at 21,600.09, the S&P 500 was up 8.83 points, or 0.35 percent, at 2,469.44. The Nasdaq Composite was up 37.60 points, or 0.59 percent, at 6,381.91. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with the energy index and health sector leading the advancers.