Continued interest in AI and the big tech stocks provided the momentum to push the three main indexes to new record closes.
The S&P 500 closed up 0.3 per cent and the Nasdaq closed up 0.2 per cent. The Dow Jones was the best performing index closing up 0.7 per cent.
Turning to US sectors, Industrials and Financials were the best performers closing up 1 per cent & 0.85 per cent respectively . The worst performing sector was Utilities closing down 0.2 per cent.
In company news Micron Technology shares rose 16 per cent after reporting strong earnings numbers. The Micron results buoyed the remaining semiconductor sector with Nvidia and Intel adding more than 1 per cent. Taiwan Semiconductor rose 2.5 per cent and Broadcom popped 6 per cent higher.
In the big tech space Meta, Microsoft and Amazon all rallied close to 1 per cent.
The only big tech name to fall on the day was Apple, closing down 4 per cent on news that the US Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company. Apple is being accused of violating antitrust laws by blocking rivals from accessing hardware and software features on its devices.
In IPO news, social media company Reddit traded more than 40 per cent above its IPO price on the first day of trading.
FedEx and Nike are expected to report their results after market close.
European markets closed at new highs after rates decisions from the Bank of England & Swiss National Bank, with the BOE leaving rates unchanged and the SNB cutting rates by 25 basis points and stating that inflation was now under control. The European Stoxx 600 index set a new record closing up close to 1 per cent at 509.77 points. Virtually all sectors finished in positive territory.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.2 per cent fall.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7.30am was buying 65.71 US cents.
Commodities
Gold gained 1.07 per cent. Silver lost 0.67 per cent. Copper rose 0.30 per cent. Oil lost 0.37 per cent.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE gained 1.88 per cent, Frankfurt added 0.91 per cent, and Paris closed 0.22 per cent higher.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 2.03 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.93 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.08 per cent..
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 1.12 per cent higher at 7,781.97
Ex-dividends
Vita Life Sciences (ASX:VLS) is paying 6 cents fully franked
Dividends payable
AGL Energy Ltd (ASX:AGL)
ARN Media Ltd (ASX:A1N)
Atlas Pearls Ltd (ASX:ATP)
Auswide Bank Ltd (ASX:ABA)
BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX:BFL)
Capral Ltd (ASX:CAA)
ClearView Wealth Ltd (ASX:CVW)
Ebos Group Ltd (ASX:EBO)
Globe International Ltd (ASX:GLB)
Helia Group Ltd (ASX:HLI)
Helloworld Travel Ltd (ASX:HLO)
IPH Ltd (ASX:IPH)
McMillan Shakespeare Ltd (ASX:MMS)
McPherson's Ltd (ASX:MCP)
Michael Hill International Ltd (ASX:MHJ)
MyState Ltd (ASX:MYS)
Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX:PNI)
Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX:PTM)
Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX:PME)
PWR Holdings Ltd (ASX:PWH)
Shine Justice Ltd (ASX:SHJ)
Sky Network Television Ltd (ASX:SKT)
Summerset Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:SNZ)
Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX:VEA)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
