US stocks post record closing again, with Nvidia, tech shares higher
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A trader working on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in the US on Sept 22.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK – All three major US stock indexes registered record closing highs for a third straight session on Sept 22, led by gains in technology shares, with Nvidia gaining after it said it will invest up to US$100 billion (S$128 billion) in OpenAI.
Shares of Nvidia gained 3.9 per cent. Nvidia will also supply OpenAI with data centre chips
Shares of Apple rose 4.3 per cent after Wedbush raised the stock’s target price on strong demand signs for the iPhone 17, while Tesla climbed 1.9 per cent. Technology led S&P 500 sector gains and ended 1.7 per cent higher.
Some US Federal Reserve officials made remarks doubting the need for further rate cuts. Last week, the US central bank cut interest rates for the first time since December and indicated more cuts would come at its upcoming meetings.
Both St Louis Fed president Alberto Musalem and Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic, in separate remarks, said that while the US Fed’s quarter of a percentage point rate cut at last week’s meeting was appropriate as a way to manage the risk of rising unemployment, lowering inflation remains the priority.
However, US Fed Governor Stephen Miran, who last week dissented when the US Fed cut the benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point and said a half-point cut was warranted, said on Sept 22 that monetary policy “is well into restrictive territory”.
The S&P 500 is now up 13.8 per cent for the year so far and up 3.6 per cent for September, a month that is historically weak for stocks.
Mr Oliver Pursche, senior vice-president and advisor for Wealthspire Advisors in Westport, Connecticut, said: “We’re certainly pointing out to clients and having portfolios reflect that we’re at all-time highs and valuations are getting stretched.”
“There needs to be a catalyst for stocks to move materially higher, and markets appear to be kind of ignoring potential headwinds,” he said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66.27 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 46,381.54, the S&P 500 gained 29.39 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 6,693.75 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 157.50 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 22,788.98.
Also worrying some investors were US President Donald Trump’s new visa fees for foreign workers, which drew widespread condemnation from technology executives and others across social media.
Shares of Tylenol-maker Kenvue fell 7.5 per cent during the session as investors braced for Mr Trump to make an announcement
After the closing bell, Mr Trump said the US Food and Drug Administration will tell doctors to advise pregnant women against using acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. But after the announcement, Kenvue shares bounced up 4.7 per cent.
Among key economic reports this week will be one on the US personal consumption expenditures price index, a closely watched inflation gauge.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.22-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 559 new highs and 99 new lows on the NYSE.
On the Nasdaq, 2,716 stocks rose and 1,963 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.38-to-1 ratio.
Volume on US exchanges was 18.65 billion shares, compared with the 17.5 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. REUTERS
