AGL 40.20 Decreased By ▼ -1.30 (-3.13%)
AIRLINK 129.11 Increased By ▲ 1.11 (0.87%)
BOP 6.60 Increased By ▲ 0.34 (5.43%)
CNERGY 4.03 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-2.42%)
DCL 8.45 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.12%)
DFML 41.25 Increased By ▲ 0.56 (1.38%)
DGKC 87.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.90 (-1.02%)
FCCL 33.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.75 (-2.2%)
FFBL 65.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.43 (-0.65%)
FFL 10.54 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.19%)
HUBC 110.70 Increased By ▲ 2.00 (1.84%)
HUMNL 15.23 Increased By ▲ 0.77 (5.33%)
KEL 4.78 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (2.8%)
KOSM 7.83 Increased By ▲ 0.50 (6.82%)
MLCF 41.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.82 (-1.92%)
NBP 60.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-0.56%)
OGDC 182.80 Increased By ▲ 3.83 (2.14%)
PAEL 25.36 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-1.32%)
PIBTL 6.26 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (3.3%)
PPL 147.81 Increased By ▲ 1.66 (1.14%)
PRL 24.56 Decreased By ▼ -0.35 (-1.41%)
PTC 16.24 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (0.62%)
SEARL 70.50 Increased By ▲ 0.30 (0.43%)
TELE 7.30 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (1.11%)
TOMCL 36.30 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (0.28%)
TPLP 7.85 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.13%)
TREET 15.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-1.86%)
TRG 51.70 Increased By ▲ 1.34 (2.66%)
UNITY 27.35 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (1.67%)
WTL 1.23 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.81%)
BR100 9,842 Increased By 47.4 (0.48%)
BR30 30,036 Increased By 389.6 (1.31%)
KSE100 92,520 Increased By 499.1 (0.54%)
KSE30 28,786 Increased By 121.7 (0.42%)

The benchmark S&P 500 index surged past the 2,700-mark for the first time on Wednesday and other major indexes hit record intraday highs as technology stocks climbed amid indications of robust economic growth in the US and overseas. The technology sector was boosted by a rise in shares of Oracle, IBM and chipmakers. The index - the best-performing S&P 500 sector in 2017 with a 37-percent jump - was up 1.08 percent.
"Tech sector got beaten up right toward the end of the year and is seeing a rebound. It stands to benefit the least from the tax plan, but large caps that have the largest overseas holdings will benefit from ability to repatriate money," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas. A report showed US factory activity increased more than expected in December, in a further sign of strong economic momentum at the end of 2017. Meanwhile, manufacturing surveys pointed to a strong start for the European economy.
The manufacturing data came ahead of the scheduled release of the Federal Reserve's minutes of its December policy meeting. Investors are likely to scan the release for hints on rate tightening action in the coming months and the impact of the US tax overhaul on the economy and inflation.
The odds of an interest rate hike in March jumped to 61.9 percent from 56.3 percent after the data, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool. At 12:40 am ET (1740 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 58.72 points, or 0.24 percent, at 24,882.73 and the S&P 500 was up 13.77 points, or 0.51 percent, at 2,709.58. The Nasdaq Composite was up 50.44 points, or 0.72 percent, at 7,057.33.

Copyright Reuters, 2018

Comments

Comments are closed.