Markets finished in the green today as tech strength carried indexes closer to record highs. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) rose 0.56% to 6,881.31, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) gained 0.78% to 22,753.63, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES:^DJI) added 0.26% to 49,662.66.
A chip partnership between Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) helped power and megacap techs higher today. Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) gained 1.77% to close at $135.38 after Mizuho (NYSE:MFG) upgraded the stock to “Outperform” and set a $195 price target.
Social-media name Snap (NYSE:SNAP) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) also advanced. Energy stocks moved upwards, but HF Sinclair Corporation (NYSE:DINO) fell after announcing the departure of its CEO amid an internal review of its disclosure processes.
The Nvidia-Meta deal dominated financial news after Meta’s after-market announcement yesterday that it would use Nvidia tech for its data centers. It boosted confidence in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and eased fears that competitors would eat into Nvidia’s market share.
Data released today showed industrial production rose in January, outperforming expectations. Housing data demonstrated rising inventory and stabilizing demand. The minutes of January’s Fed meeting gave more insight into discussions, with some members advocating further cuts if inflation drops.
Energy stocks gained as oil prices rose due to continued geopolitical uncertainty. Brent crude prices have gained over 15% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLE) has risen over 22% since the start of the year.
Before you buy stock in S&P 500 Index, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and S&P 500 Index wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $415,256!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,133,904!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 889% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 193% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
