US Stocks Hit Record Highs After Long Weekend Break
US stocks on Tuesday hit record highs on their reopening from a long weekend break, with investors' risk appetite heightened by the Federal Reserve's assurances about enduring support for financial markets and the economy
NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2021) US stocks on Tuesday hit record highs on their reopening from a long weekend break, with investors' risk appetite heightened by the Federal Reserve's assurances about enduring support for financial markets and the economy.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq index, which includes industry giants such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google, hit a record high of 14,175, ticking about 0.3 percent higher by 10:25 AM ET (15:25 GMT). The index has gained nearly 10 percent since the start of the year, leading the momentum on Wall Street.
The S&P 500, a barometer for the top 500 US stocks, hit an all-time high of 3,950, trading about quarter percent higher. The S&P is up almost 5 percent on the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broadest gauge of the New York Stock Exchange, surged to a record high of 31,600 shortly after its open, trading about 0.
3 percent higher. The index is up 3 percent year-to-date.
Latest US health data showed declines in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations after a spike in December through January.
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, meanwhile, played down suggestions that the central bank's loose monetary policy was fueling an asset bubble, either in stocks or in assets such as Bitcoin, which topped $50,000 for the first time earlier in the day. Bullard dismissed the current action in stocks as "just normal investing," saying the Federal Reserve will continue its support of the markets and economy.