Stocks hit records as tech giants rally
Some of the biggest companies in the world had their best day in years Friday as Microsoft and Alphabet soared following strong third-quarter reports, as did online retail giant Amazon. U.S. stocks set more records as their winning streak extended to a seventh week.
Intel made its biggest gains in three years, while Microsoft had its biggest jump in two years and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, made its largest move in more than a year after each company’s results were better than Wall Street expected.
Amazon jumped 13%, its biggest move in two and a half years, after it got a big boost from its latest “Prime Day” promotion and the purchase of the Whole Foods grocery store chain.
Other stocks were mixed: Retailers fell after J.C. Penney Co. cut its annual forecasts. Drugstores, drugmakers, healthcare suppliers and pharmaceutical distributors and retailers fell.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.8% to 2,581.07. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.1% to 23,434.19 as drugmaker Merck and oil company Chevron skidded after their third-quarter reports. The Nasdaq composite made its biggest gain since November as it soared 2.2% to 6,701.26. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 0.7% to 1,508.32.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at all-time highs. The S&P 500 also rose for the seventh straight week.
Alphabet climbed 4.3% to $1,033.67, and Microsoft soared 6.4% to $83.81. Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, jumped 7.4% to $44.40.
Elsewhere, Facebook rose 4.2% to $177.88, its largest gain August 2015. Apple advanced 3.6% to $163.05.
Amazon posted strong results and gave an optimistic outlook for the holiday season. Its stock jumped 13.2% to $1,100.95.
Aside from those giant companies, stocks were mixed. J.C. Penney Co. fell to an all-time low: Its stock lost 14.8% to $3.12. Other retailers like Macy’s and Foot Locker tumbled as well.
Toy maker Mattel plunged after the company posted a huge third-quarter loss and said it will slash spending and stop paying quarterly dividends. The stock lost 8.9% to $14.
Drugstores and prescription drug distributors fell for a second day. Walgreens Boots Alliance lost 3.9% to $64.48 and pharmaceutical distributor McKesson lost 5.5% to $135.62.
Benchmark U.S. crude reached a six-month high of $53.90 a barrel in New York. Brent crude rose $1.14 to a two-year high of $60.44 a barrel in London.
Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.77 a gallon. Heating oil gained 2 cents to $1.84 a gallon. Natural gas tumbled 4.8% to $2.75 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Bond prices jumped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.41% from 2.46%, a seven-month high.
Gold rose $2.20 to $1,271.80 an ounce. Silver slid 6 cents to $16.75 an ounce. Copper lost 7 cents to $3.10 a pound.