Stock market today: Netflix and AI excitement send Wall Street to the brink of an all-time high

Table of Contents

.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and almost reached its highest closing point in history, which was set a few weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 130 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3%.

The gains were achieved despite a majority of U.S. stocks declining due to a significant increase in Treasury yields in the bond market. The smaller stocks in the Russell 2000 index dropped 0.6%, with about two-thirds of stocks in the S&P 500 also in decline. However, the gains in prominent stocks more than offset these losses.

During the most recent quarter, Netflix's results exceeded analysts' expectations, and the company stated that it will be increasing subscription prices in the United States and other countries. As a result, Netflix's stock rose 9.7%.

The streaming giant has become one of the latest companies to beat analysts' profit predictions for the end of 2024. This strong performance is helping to support their stock prices and offset the negative impact from rising interest rates, which can discourage investors from buying stocks.

, at least briefly.

devastating storms such as 2018's Hurricane Michael, which ravaged Florida's Gulf coast in October, and other disasters.

Procter & Gamble went up 1.9% after the company behind products like Charmin, Crest, and Pampers said it made more profit and had more revenue than people had predicted for its most recent quarter. It also said it's sticking with its financial expectations for the whole year, even though rising costs for raw materials and a stronger dollar are causing some problems.

The White House announced a joint venture that will begin constructing data centers and electricity generation infrastructure to support the ongoing development of artificial intelligence in Texas.

The partnership formed by Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank will invest as much as $500 billion. Shares of SoftBank Group Corp. rose 10.6% in Tokyo.

Other AI-related stocks also rose, adding to their already impressive gains. Nvidia, the company whose chips are driving the surge into AI, rose 4.4%. Its stock price reached above $147, up from just below $18 two years ago.

They helped make up for a 3.4% drop for Textron. Textron reported a better profit for the quarter than analysts predicted, but the company's revenue was lower than some forecasted. The company, which is behind Bell helicopters and Cessna airplanes, also released a forecast for this upcoming year that was lower than what some analysts were expecting.

In total, the S&P 500 went up by 37.13 points to 6,086.37. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 130.92 to 44,156.73, and the Nasdaq composite jumped by 252.56 to 20,009.34.

There was a mix of performance in overseas stock markets, with both positive and negative results in the European and Asian markets.

Last week's rate is still higher than it was in September, when it was about 3.65%.

Strategists at the BlackRock Investment Institute predict that interest rates will remain higher for a longer period of time due to a combination of factors, including an older workforce and the significant amount of debt owed by the U.S. government.

"Investors are seeking higher returns to offset the risks associated with holding long-term bonds, resulting in a decade-long high for the term premium," according to the strategists led by Jean Boivin.

In order for stocks to hold their ground and continue to rise, even in the midst of high interest rates, companies will need to keep showing steady growth in their profits, and Boivin said he's noticing some promising signs.

on Monday.

which critics deemed looked like an unseemly move to make money.

___

Contributions were made to this report by AP writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong.