U.S. stocks end mixed, Dow, S&P 500 posting record closes

New York [US], February 24: U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday, ending the week on a positive note, with the S&P 500 holding steady after setting another record intraday high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62.42 points, or 0.16 percent, reaching a fresh record and closing at an all-time high of 39,131.53. The S&P 500 added 1.77 points, or 0.03 percent, to 5,088.8. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 44.80 points, or 0.28 percent, to 15,996.82.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with utilities and materials leading the gainers by going up 0.71 percent and 0.58 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and consumer discretionary led the laggards by dropping 0.58 percent and 0.34 percent, respectively.
Following a record-breaking single-day gain of 277 billion U.S. dollars, Nvidia's stock continued its upward trajectory on Friday, inching closer to a staggering 2 trillion dollars market valuation. Investors seem to be taking a pause after witnessing this unprecedented surge.
"We saw the market pullback this week on the uncertainty of NVIDIA earnings and a major relief rally when the AI demand was reconfirmed," writes Navellier & Associates founder Louis Navellier. "It's been a strong week and a strong month. Following a good earnings season, it's difficult to see, besides some profit-taking, what will push us off this positive trend."
UBS Private Wealth Management's Greg Marcus believes that investors should take advantage of market volatility to buy into big tech. "There will likely be pullbacks and volatility over the next few months and we are supportive of the buy the dip mentality when it comes to big tech," he said.
While the artificial intelligence boom continues to dominate headlines, the possibility of future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve is regaining market attention. While the timing remains uncertain, several Fed officials have recently hinted at the possibility of future easing, albeit not in the immediate future. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked lower to 4.261 percent.
Source: Xinhua