S&P 500 hits record high on Netflix results, Trump's AI investment plans
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. — AFP
Wall Street’s main indexes rose on Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 hitting an all-time high, as investors cheered streaming giant Netflix’s strong quarterly performance and President Donald Trump’s multi-billion dollar support to bolster AI infrastructure.
Data pointing to a strong economy amid cooling inflation and Trump’s moderate approach to tariffs have helped risk-taking since last week, with the S&P 500 and the Dow at their highest in over a month.
On the day, Netflix jumped 10.9%, sending the S&P 500 communication services sector up 2%. The company reported a record number of subscribers for the holiday quarter, enabling it to increase prices for most service plans.
“The name of the game with Netflix is live sports because live sports reduces churn. And they (Netflix) were able to raise prices, which shows their continued mode is getting stronger,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital.
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At 11:59 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 125.29 points, or 0.29%, to 44,152.24, the S&P 500 gained 50.60 points, or 0.84%, to 6,099.86 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 298.07 points, or 1.50%, to 20,054.85.
Meanwhile, Oracle gained 6.5%, a day after Trump said the company would invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure with OpenAI and SoftBank, even though there was no clarity on funding.
“It (AI infrastructure plan) is going to be funded by private business and private investors … in the case of SoftBank, they don’t have $500 billion but they have access to some money and could probably raise more as they get the first few projects out and show early successes,” said Hayes.
Server makers Dell and Super Micro added 2.5% and 4.9%, respectively, while AI winners Microsoft added 3.5% and Nvidia rose 3.9%.
Three of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, with technology stocks leading with a 2.3% jump and an index tracking chip stocks surged 2.6%.
Investors also are awaiting clarity on Trump’s trade policies after he warned that tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union could be issued on Feb. 1, a reminder for markets that risks of a potential trade war and fresh inflation pressures prevailed.
The president has ordered federal agencies to complete comprehensive reviews of a range of trade issues by April 1 – the date that analysts at Barclays say markets should wait for to get more clarity on his tariff policy.
Traders expect the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets next week and expect it to deliver its first rate cut this year in July, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Procter & Gamble advanced 2.8% after beating second-quarter estimates, driven by growing demand for its household items in the United States.
Johnson & Johnson fell 3%. The drugmaker reported fourth-quarter results above estimates.
Ford lost 3.5% as Barclays downgraded the stock, while Textron fell 4.5% after it
forecast 2025 profit below estimates.
Halliburton slipped 1.6% after warning of softer activity in North America this year and posting downbeat quarterly revenue. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.35-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.29-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 89 new highs and 68 new lows.
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