The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) Wednesday closed up +0.61%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI) (DIA) closed up +0.30%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) closed up +1.33%. March E-mini S&P futures (ESH25) are up +0.55%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQH25) are up +1.24%.
Stocks on Wednesday extended Tuesday's gains, with the S&P 500 climbing to a new record high and the Dow Jones Industrials and the Nasdaq 100 posting 5-week highs. Strength in technology stocks led the overall market higher on Wednesday, with Netflix up more than +9% after reporting better-than-expected Q4 earnings results. Also, Oracle rose more than +6%, adding to Tuesday's +6% jump, after the company teamed up with Softbank Group and Open AI to form a $100 billion joint venture to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure. The proposed increase in AI spending bolstered optimism in the sector and boosted AI infrastructure stocks, with ARM Holdings Plc closing up more than +15% and Nvidia and Microsoft closing up more than +4%.
