Stock exchanges finished the third quarter with bullish moves, thanks to big-name tech stocks.
Apple Inc and Microsoft led the gains on the indices. S&P 500 ended the trading day 0.5% higher. The NASDAQ Composite gained 0.75%, while the NASDAQ 100 gained 0.88%. The Dow climbed 0.36%.
For the quarter, the S&P 500 and Dow were 1.2% higher. The NASDAQ was up 0.09%.
For the year, the S&P 500 is up 18.7%, while the Dow gained 15.4%. The NASDAQ gained 20.6%.
For corporate stocks, Apple gained 2.44%. This made its market capitalization exceed $1 trillion for the first time for September 18. That’s just behind Microsoft.
Apple drove the major US indices’ gains. The company’s strengthening came after JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee raised his stock price target from $243 to $265.
Chatterjee cited the robust sales of the new iPhone 11, which sold more than market’s expectations.
Stock Exchanges Still Under Pressure
Despite these results, US exchanges are still under pressure. Most of the indices’ gains for the year came during the first quarter.
At the same time, the gains came from an increasingly fewer bunch of stocks.
The rally still also suffered from the news that the Trump admin wasn’t planning to disrupt capital flows between the US and China.
Last Friday, news said that the US was planning to delist Chinese companies from US stock exchanges. This news triggered a rally among indices.
Over in Europe, shares also moved higher. Apple suppliers led the gains. Airline stocks also jumped after Bank of America Merrill Lynch issued bullish calls for the sector.
AMS, Dialog, and STMicro showed gains in early trading. The tech sector then moved 1% higher.
The STOXX 600 index gained 0.3%. Air France gained 2.3%, rising on top of the pan-European index.
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