NEW YORK: Technology shares helped the S&P 500 rise to a record high on Wednesday, as investors awaited details on President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure plan, while Wall Street was set to wrap up its fourth straight quarterly gain.
The $3 trillion-$4 trillion package that will target traditional projects like roads and bridges alongside investments in the electric vehicle market.
The Nasdaq jumped more than 1.5% on Wednesday, but the index is about 6% off its all-time peak as high-flying tech names have been hit by a surge in US 10-year bond yields.
After leading Wall Street’s rally from the coronavirus-lows of last year, the Nasdaq’s 3% gain has lagged the S&P 500’s 6% rise and the Dow 8% addition this quarter.
At 11:34 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20.23 points, or 0.06%, to 33,046.73, and the S&P 500 gained 21.64 points, or 0.55%, to 3,980.19 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 211.45 points, or 1.62%, to 13.256.84.
Apple Inc rose 2.6% after brokerage UBS upgraded the stock to “buy” on stable long-term demand for iPhones with better authorized service providers.
Technology sector added about 1.6%, while financials and energy stocks dropped in a reversal of this quarter’s trend.