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Technology stocks drive Nasdaq to finish at a record top as Amazon closes in on trillion dollar valuation

Last updated: 21:17 29 Aug 2018 BST, First published: 18:10 29 Aug 2018 BST

Nasdaq building

The tech-heavy Nasdaq settled on Wednesday at a record closing top, boosted by the strong run of technology stocks led by retail king Amazon.com and iPhone behemoth Apple.

Optimism over trade talks between the United States and Canada also gave the markets a boost.

Nasdaq charged to an intra-day record high at 8,113.56 and finished up almost 1% at 8,109.69, which eclipsed the previous record closing high of 8,030.03 set in the previous session.

Amazon.com shares hit a record intra-day top and 52-week high at US$1,998.69, just a hair short of the psychological 2,000 mark, before closing on Wednesday 3.4% up at US$1,998. The company is poised to join Apple as the only US companies with a trillion dollar valuation.

READ: Amazon upgrade by Morgan Stanley could make it second US company with US$1 trillion valuation  

Since becoming the first US company to hit a market valuation of US$1tn this month, Apple has continued to break records. The iPhone maker touched a record peak and 52-week high of US$223.49 before ending 1.5% higher at US$222.98.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index gained 0.23% to end at 26,124.57.

The S&P 500, meanwhile, hit a 52-week high of 2,916.50 and then finished 0.57% up at 2,914.04. The small-cap Russell 2000 came within a hair of a new 52-week high at 1,737.01, just short of the 52-week peak at 1,737.63. The index closed up 0.37% at 1,734.79. 

In Canada, the TSX added 0.24% to trade at 16,394.

1:10 pm: US stocks inch up as Nasdaq hits record high boosted by technology stocks

The Nasdaq hit an all-time high for the fourth session in a row midday Wednesday, boosted by a jump in technology stocks, and on optimism over trade talks between the United States and Canada.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index gained 83.93 points, or 0.32% to 26,147.95 led higher by Visa Inc and DowDuPont Inc.

The tech-laden Nasdaq’s gained 70.58 points, or 0.88% to hit an all-time high of 8,100.72 with advancing issues outnumbering decliners for a 1.61-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Amazon.com Inc, Vertex Pharma and Take-Two Interactive Software lifted the Nasdaq by gaining nearly 3% on strong volumes. Since hitting US$1tn earlier this month, Apple has continued to break records. The iPhone maker climbed 0.9% to hit a record high of US$221.80.

The S&P 500, meanwhile, gained 16.73 points, or 0.58% to 2,914, pushed up by Marathon Oil Corp, Abiomed Inc and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The technology sector rose 0.9%, the most among the 11 major S&P sectors.

10:00 AM: US stocks open flat as trade talks between US and Canada resume 

US stocks opened flat Wednesday, as investors kept watch on the resumption of trade talks between the US and Canada.

Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s foreign minister is still in Washington DC for NAFTA trade negotiations and the hope is that Canada will join the trade pact, which was struck by the US and Mexico at the week’s start.

Early in the session, after opening in the green, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index took a tumble to shed 14 points to 26,049.78, led lower by Walgreens Boots Alliance, American Express, DowDuPont, JPMorgan Chase, Walt Disney and Pfizer.

The S&P 500, meanwhile, stayed in positive territory to add 3 points and hover at 2,900, pushed up by Brown-Forman, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company.

The tech-laden Nasdaq’s gains were more impressive as it added nearly 26 points to 8,055, led by Take- Two Interactive Software Inc, PayPal Holdings Inc, Amazon.com, Adobe Systems and Align Technology Inc.

In the spot light were shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) which gained more than 1.5% immediately after Morgan Stanley increased its price target for the retailer’s shares to US$2,500 from US$1,850.

Shares in Google’s parent Alphabet were also trading over 1% higher after Morgan Stanley also pushed up its price target for the stock to US$1,515 due to the rosy prospects for its self-driving car unit Waymo.

Elsewhere, Toronto’s TSX jumped 12 points to trade at 16,368 while the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks stayed flat at 1,730.

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