March kicked off on a high note on Wall Street Friday, with the $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ and $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ setting new record closes, fueled by the unstoppable surge of tech stocks.
The S&P 500 rose 40.81 points (0.8%) to close at a 5,137.08 record high, while the Nasdaq Composite added 183.02 points (1.1%) to a record finish of 16,274.94.
The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ inched up 90.99 ticks (0.2%) to a preliminary 39,087.38 finish, although that's short of the index's Feb. 23 record.
Despite the sharper-than-expected contraction revealed by the ISM Manufacturing PMI in February – with the overall index plummeting from 49.5 to 47.8, missing the anticipated 49.1 – investors remained upbeat.
The data triggered downward pressure on the dollar and Treasury yields, maintaining firm expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.
In the tech sector, the semiconductor industry continued its remarkable performance, buoyed by escalating demand for chips associated with artificial intelligence.
Among the Magnificent Seven, $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ rose to above $500 for the first time ever to close at a record $502.30, up 2.5% on the session. However, $Apple (AAPL.US)$ eased 0.6% to a $179.66 close after Goldman Sachs decided to remove the stock from its conviction list, while
Elsewhere, $New York Community Bancorp (NYCB.US)$ faces renewed scrutiny after disclosing a "material weakness" in its internal controls related to loan review processes, causing shares to plummet 26% to $3.545.
Meanwhile, gold rose 1.8% to $2,092.60/oz, its strongest session since mid-December.
In economic news, Fed speakers – including Goolsbee, Waller and Bostic – offered a mixed bag of remarks, though collectively acknowledging the ongoing progress toward disinflation. Additionally, a Fed report highlighted that inflation expectations broadly align with the 2% target.
Friday's Stock Movers
$NetApp (NTAP.US)$ rose 18.2% on stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
$Spirit Aerosystems (SPR.US)$ rallied 15.3% after reports that $Boeing (BA.US)$ is in discussions to buy the supplier.
