The oldest of the three main equity indexes hit new highs on Thursday, helped by its heavy exposure to blue-chip healthcare and financial names. But it was a difficult day for one of the biggest publicly traded companies in the world – a major player in the AI boom. At the same time, technology was one of only two sectors in the red at the end of a trading session defined by some semiconductor weakness but broad strength just about everywhere else.
By the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 1.7% to 51,561 – another new all-time closing high. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% at 7,584, but the Nasdaq Composite had slipped 0.1% to 26,830.