Tweet
S&P 500, Nasdaq wander into record territory at market open 1 Hour Ago | 03:01
U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday as Wall Street remained positive about the Federal Reserve's plan to trim its balance sheet, while tech stocks climbed.
The S&P 500 reached an all-time intraday high, rising above its previous record of 2,405.77. Information technology was among the best-performing sectors, rising 0.6 percent. Tech has been on a tear this year, surging more than 19 percent.
The Nasdaq composite also notched a new record, climbing over 6,170.16, as Netflix, Alphabet, and Facebook shares all rose.
The Dow Jones industrial average, meanwhile, traded about half a percent from its record high, rising 77 points, with Caterpillar contributing the most gains.
Getty Images
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
According to the minutes from its May 3 meeting, which were released Wednesday, the Fed sees a system where it will announce cap limits on how much it will allow to roll off each month without reinvesting.
"The markets are taking the Fed's comments on how they plan to unwind the balance sheet as a positive," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth.
Pavlik also noted that the S&P closed decisively above 2,400 on Wednesday, a key technical level, that could prompt more investors to jump into the market.
Katie Stockton, chief technical strategist at BTIG, said: "short-term upside is likely greatest for small- and mid-cap stocks given their relatively oversold position."
Equities came into Thursday's session riding a five-day winning streak, wiping out losses from last week's sell-off.
Investors also kept an eye on oil prices after OPEC agreed to extend production cuts by nine months. That disappointed some investors, who had hoped that OPEC might reduce output even further to drain a global glut that has depressed markets for almost three years.
U.S. crude for July delivery fell on the back of the news, last trading 0.5 percent lower at $51.09 per barrel.
"I think it was a buy-the-rumor-sell-the-news event," said Tamar Essner, energy analyst at Nasdaq. "There was also some hope that the cuts would deepen a bit."
In economic news, jobless claims hit 234,000 last week, rising slightly from the previous week, but remained near their lowest levels in more than 40 years.
U.S. Treasurys rose on Thursday, with the benchmark 10-year yield slipping to 2.259 percent and the short-term two-year note yield declining to 1.29 percent.