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Tech stocks helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq close higher on Thursday, led by a rally in shares of Apple, which became the first publicly traded U.S. company to cross market cap of $1 trillion. However, the Dow ended in the red, as trade sensitive industrial stocks once again took a hit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.1%, to close at 25,326.16. The S&P 500 gained 0.5% to close at 2,827.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 7, 802.69, jumping 1.2%. A total of 6.66 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 6.25 billion shares. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.41-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.58-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
How did the Benchmark Perform?
The S&P 500 gained 13.86 points, with technology stocks emerging as the best performers. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) gained 1.3%. Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors ended in positive territory. The Consumer Staples Sector SPDR (XLP) gained 1%. The tech heavy Nasdaq gained 95.40 points, as shares of Apple AAPL rallied. Shares of Apple gained 2.9%. Apple has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Dow, however, shed 7.66 points, as it failed to hold earlier gains. Industrial stocks once again came under pressure on fears of trade war. Shares of Caterpillar CAT and Boeing BA declined 0.4% and 09%, respectively.
Apple Now Worth $1 Trillion
Shares of Apple have been on a rally since the company reported robust fiscal third-quarter earnings on Tuesday. On Thursday, the iPhone maker’s shares rose 2.9% to $207.39 a share, thus making it the first publicly traded U.S. company to cross a market cap of $1 trillion.
There has long been speculation among analysts as to which company would become the first to cross the $1 trillion market cap mark. Apple’s gains on Thursday saw other tech stocks too rallying, which pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to end in positive territory. This helped pare the earlier losses suffered during the day, as trade war fears once again made investors jittery.
Trade War Fears Hit Industrials
Trade war fears continued to take it toll on stocks on Thursday. The U.S. administration said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump has asked U.S. trade representative to consider imposing additional tariffs on another $200 billion of Chinese goods. China too responded by saying that it is fully prepared to retaliate if U.S. imposed further tariffs.
This saw shares of companies with significant exposure to China taking a hit. Industrials were the biggest losers. The fears continued on Thursday, which saw industrial stocks further tumbling. Shares of Boeing, Caterpillar and 3M Company MMM all declined. Shares of 3M Company declined 0.7%.