S&P, Nasdaq hit new highs on tech earnings, economic data

Major stock indexes opened to new highs Thursday morning following strong earnings for tech giants and economic data pointing to a rapid recovery.

The S&P 500 rose 26 points, or 0.6 percent, to a new record of 4,209 in early morning trading, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq shot up 70 points, or 0.5 percent, to a new high of 14,120.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 144 points, or 0.4 percent, but remained about 300 points off from its recent high of 34,256.

The uptick follows stronger-than-expected earnings from major tech companies including Apple, Facebook and Google’s Alphabet.

It also follows two strong economic data releases from the federal government.

The Commerce Department said that the economy grew at an annualized rate of 6.4 percent in the first quarter, its best first quarter since 1984.

Jobless claims also continued to drop, reaching a new pandemic low of 553,000 in seasonally adjusted terms for the week ending April 24.

The latest stock records continue a hot market trend under Biden, whose first 100 days in office have coincided with the best stock streak in decades.