S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit 5-month highs

The US stock indexes S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have reached their highest values in the last five months. At the same time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended trading in a slight minus and fell to the level of 34053.94 points.

The value of the Standard & Poor's 500 for the day increased by 60.55 points (1.47%), amounting to 4,179.76 points. The Nasdaq Composite index soared by 384.5 points (3.25%) to 12200.82 points at the end of the session.

Analysts note that the reason for the growth of these two indicators was a jump in the stock prices of Meta Platforms by 23.3%. The last time such a record daily increase was recorded was in 2013. It is noted that the company reduced its net profit in the fourth quarter by more than half, but revenue exceeded expectations. In addition, the company presented a strong forecast for the current quarter and announced a large-scale Buyback program (for $ 40 billion).

Shares of other representatives of the technology sector also rose significantly: Alphabet Inc. – by 7.3%, Amazon.com Inc. – by 7.4% and Apple Inc. – by 3.7%. Experts believe that inflation has most likely already peaked, and the interest rates of the world's central banks should stabilize – and these factors will contribute to the further growth of shares of technology companies.

Additional support for the stock market was provided by the results of the first meeting of the US Federal Reserve this year. The Fed is expected to raise the interest rate by 25 basis points. Now its range is 4.5-4.75% per annum – this is the maximum since 2007. The head of the regulator, Jerome Powell, said during a subsequent press conference that the Central Bank does not expect a rate cut in 2023 if economic indicators meet forecasts.