S&P 500 goes past 4,000 for first time

Technology stocks benefited from another drop in bond yields.

Wall Street kicked April off with a milestone Thursday, as a tech company rally helped drive the S&P 500 past the 4,000 mark for the first time.

The benchmark index finished 1.2% higher a day after closing out the first three months of the year with its fourth straight quarterly gain. Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and Google’s parent company were among the winners, along with smaller companies, which stand to benefit from a quickly growing economy. Health care, household goods stocks and utilities were the only laggards.

Technology stocks benefited from another drop in bond yields, which have been the driving force for the market for several weeks. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 1.69% from 1.73% the day before. Higher bond yields make stocks seem more expensive by comparison, and tech stocks are among the most expensive after their significant rise last year. Microsoft rose 2.8%, Facebook gained 1.4%, Amazon.com added 2.2% and Google parent Alphabet closed 3.3% higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.8%. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 1.5%.

The rally capped a holiday-shortened week for the stock market. U.S. stock exchanges will be closed in observance of Good Friday, though bond trading will be open for half a day, closing at noon Eastern.

Companies that would benefit from greater sales of electric vehicles also rose Thursday, a day after President Joe Biden outlined various measures to support their use as part of his massive infrastructure plan. Part of that plan includes installation of thousands of additional charging stations around the country. Electric vehicle charger operator Chargepoint gained 11.8%.