Dow And S&P 500 Close At Record Highs For Third Straight Day

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 stock indices closed at record highs on Thursday for the third consecutive day.

The Nasdaq Composite gained as well after dropping for two days straight. The growth comes amid jobless claims nearing pandemic lows as the economy continues its recovery.

The S&P 500 closed at 4460.83, its 47th record close of 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal, while the Dow finished Thursday at 35499.85.

“Earnings have been nothing short of spectacular,” Jeff Schulze, investment strategist at ClearBridge Investments, told the WSJ. “It’s everything you want to see as an investor.”

Technology stocks performed best, according to Reuters. Apple, Amazon, and Google’s parent company Alphabet all gained. Data analytics and technology company Palantir’s share prices increased 12% from Wednesday to Thursday.

“The move into big tech is simply a trading opportunity. Big tech has been down for a week or so, underperforming the market pretty significantly,” Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel, told Reuters.

At the same time, record-high producer prices, partly due to supply chain disruptions, along with soaring consumer prices, continue to fuel inflation concerns. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July predicted “rapid inflation” over the next several months.

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index reported Friday a “stunning loss of confidence” in the U.S. economy, the seventh-largest drop since the survey began.

“Consumers have correctly reasoned that the economy’s performance will be diminished over the next several months,” the survey’s chief economist Richard Curtin said in the findings.