The major averages finish higher to end the week as the artificial intelligence trade regains its footing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 183 points or 0.38%. The S&P 500 rose 60 points or 0.89%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 301 points or 1.3% to 23,307. Part of the rally today was due to “quadruple witching” option expiration. More than $7.1 trillion in notional options exposure is set to expire this Friday, making it the largest options expiration on record, according to Goldman Sachs.
Micron led the rally again following strong earnings the other day. Micron rose 7%. Nvidia rose 3% as the whole chip sector finished in the green. Software which has been in the dumps, had a good day. Oracle rose 7% after TikTok agreed to sell its U.S. operations to a new joint venture that includes the software giant and private equity investor Silver Lake.
Interest rates were higher as investors digested fresh consumer sentiment data and a tame inflation print. The 10-year yield rose 3 basis points to 4.15%, while the 2-year Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 3.48%. The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased more than 2 basis points to 4.82%. The financials had a good day. The large cap banks are trading near all time highs. Industrials looked good today as well.
The cruise lines had a good day as Carnaval jumped 8% on better than expected earnings. The travel and leisure stocks overall performed well day.
Not many stocks lower today. Nike was a dog, down 10% following earnings and weak guidance as their turnaround looks to be taking longer than investors had hoped.
In the commodity space, oil was modestly higher, but still near a four year low. Gold was modestly higher above $4300 as ounce. Crypto currencies were all higher today to finish out the week.
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