S&P 500 Closes Above 5,000 As Tech Stocks Rally

With technology stocks leading the charge, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday. The major averages extended a recent upward trend, with the S&P 500 closing above 5,000 for the first time ever.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a standout gain, surging 196.95 points or 1.3 percent to 15,990.66 and continuing to close in the on the record highs set in November 2021.

The S&P 500 also climbed 28.70 points or 0.6 percent to 5,026.61, while the narrower Dow bucked the uptrend amid a pullback by Disney (DIS) and edged down 54.64 points or 0.1 percent to 38,671.69.

For the week, the Nasdaq shot up by 2.3 percent and the S&P 500 jumped by 1.4 percent. The Dow inched slightly higher.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to data from the Labor Department showing a modest downward revision to consumer price growth in December.

The revised data showed the consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in December compared to the previously reported 0.3 percent increase.

Meanwhile, the increase by core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, was unrevised at 0.3 percent.

While the revised data is not likely to have a major impact on the outlook for interest rates, the modest revision seemed to provide a jolt to tech stocks.

Semiconductor stocks extended the rally seen over the two previous sessions, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 2.0 percent.

Computer hardware and software stocks also saw considerable strength, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index climbing by 1.8 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

Outside of the tech sector, brokerage and retail stocks saw notable strength, while energy stocks moved to the downside despite a continued increase by the price of crude oil.

Among individual stocks, Bitcoin miner CleanSpark (CLSK) skyrocketed by 32.9 percent after reporting an unexpected fiscal first quarter profit on better than expected revenues….