Investing.com – Wall Street closed at record highs after technology and healthcare surged as bullish earnings extended the bull run in US stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 26,616.71. The S&P 500 closed 1.18% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 7505.77, up 1.28%.
Intel was one of the standout performers of the session, closing over 10% higher after reporting earnings Thursday after close, that beat on both the top and bottom line, fuelling a rally in semi-conductors which lifted the broader indexes to record highs.
AbbVie, Honeywell, and Rockwell were a few of the other names that reported better-than estimated earnings and revenue. Bullish earnings have prompted analysts to raise estimates on the shares of several companies, stoking investor appetite for equities.
Yet Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) posted its first weekly loss in three weeks amid growing concerns that the tech giant’s iPhone sales growth has slowed.
Weaker economic data, meanwhile, had muted impact on equities as traders shrugged off the slowdown in fourth quarter economic growth as overall growth in 2017 average 2.5%, up from 1.8% in the previous year.
"We forecast further acceleration to 2.8%, in the year ahead," HFE said.
'Bulls and Bears' on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) rose 10.6%, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) up 4.8% and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) up 2.5%
Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) down 1.8%, Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) down 0.7%, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) down 0.3%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.