Big Tech stocks again carried Wall Street to a record on Friday, though the majority of stocks fell amid worries about the downside of a hot economy.
- The S&P 500 rose 52.42 points, or 1.1%, to 4,958.61.
- The Dow rose 134.58 points, or 0.3%, to 38,654.42.
- The Nasdaq rose 267.31 points, or 1.7%, to 15,628.95.
Big gains for Meta Platforms and Amazon helped drive the S&P to its latest all-time high, per the AP. It's climbed in 13 of the past 14 weeks. Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, soared 20.3% after it reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected and said it would start paying a dividend to its investors. Amazon rallied 7.9% after it reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. Both are among the small group of Big Tech stocks responsible for the majority of Wall Street's run to a record. Their huge gains have set expectations high for their growth, which they need to meet to justify the big runs for their stock prices.
While the strength is a boon for workers and keeps the risk of a recession at bay, the worry is that it could preserve some upward pressure on inflation. That in turn could mean a longer wait for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates, per the AP. Hopes for such cuts, which can relax the pressure on the economy and goose investment prices, have been a major reason the US stock market has surged to record heights. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said earlier this week that it's unlikely interest rate cuts will begin as soon as traders had been hoping.
(More
stock market stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
