World markets today: US stocks surge, led by semiconductor, megacap shares
At 11:42 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 119.69 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 37,588.30, the S&P 500 was up 17.27 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 4,798.21, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 72.33 points, or 0.48 per cent, at 15,127.98.
Semiconductor stocks Qualcomm, Marvell Technology , Nvidia and Microchip Technology gained between 1.2 per cent and 3.1 per cent after server maker Super Micro Computer lifted its second quarter profit forecast, sending its shares surging 30.2 per cent.
Megacap stocks Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Apple added between 0.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent.
At 9:49 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 27.19 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 37,495.80, the S&P 500 was up 6.91 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 4,787.85, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 43.39 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 15,099.04.
On Thursday, US stocks ended sharply higher. The S&P 500 climbed 0.88 per cent to end the session at 4,780.94 points. The Nasdaq gained 1.35 per cent to 15,055.65 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.54 per cent to 37,468.61 points.
The 10-year yield climbed to 4.16 per cent from 4.14 per cent late Thursday.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.08% at 103.43, on pace for its sixth straight day.
In Europe, shares fell on Friday. The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended 0.3 per cent lower after rising as much as 0.5 per cent during the day.
Britain’s FTSE 100 added less than 0.1 per cent at 7,461.93. France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.4 per cent at 7,371.64. Germany’s DAX lost less than 0.1 per cent at 16,555.13.
In Asian stock markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.5 per cent at 15,308.69. China’s Shanghai Composite edged down 0.5 per cent at 2,832.28. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.4 per cent at 35,963.27.
Oil prices rose on Friday on Middle East tensions and oil output disruptions caused by cold weather in the US.
Brent crude futures was up 44 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $79.54 a barrel as of 1433 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) gained 43 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $74.51.
Pakistan launched strikes on separatist militants inside Iran on Thursday in a retaliatory attack, while the US launched new strikes against Houthi anti-ship missiles aimed at the Red Sea.
Spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to $2,029.19 per ounce by 10:05 ET (1505 GMT). US gold futures rose 0.5 per cent to $2,030.80.
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Published: 19 Jan 2024, 09:19 PM IST
